Equity benchmark Sensex dropped over 300 points in opening trade on Thursday (April 16) tracking losses in global markets as investors fretted over rising number of Covid-19 cases and its impact on the world economy.
After hitting a low of 30,016.17, the 30-share index was trading 336.77 points or 1.11 per cent lower at 30,043.04.
Similarly, the NSE Nifty was quoting 81.10 points, or 0.91 per cent, down at 8,844.20. Infosys was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, shedding up to 4 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, Hero MotoCorp, Tech Mahindra, Titan and Axis Bank. On the other hand, L&T, PowerGrid, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries and ONGC were among the gainers.
In the previous session, the BSE barometer ended 310.21 points or 1.01 per cent lower at 30,379.81, and the Nifty settled 68.55 points, or 0.76 per cent, down at 8,925.30. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers in the capital market in the last trading session, as they bought equity shares worth Rs 1,358.66 crore, according to provisional exchange data.
According to traders, tepid start to the earnings season with weak results from Wipro hurt domestic market mood. The IT major posted 6 per cent decline in net profit for March quarter that was battered by the fallout of COVID-19, and said it will not provide revenue forecast for the current quarter due to business uncertainty caused by the pandemic.
The company’s shares were trading 0.48 per cent lower from their previous close. Industry bellwether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is scheduled to announce its quarterly earnings later in the day. Its shares were down up to 1.58 per cent. The BSE IT index was the worst hit, falling over 2 per cent.
Further, investors across the world are jittery over the economic outlook marred by mounting COVID-19 infections, they said. The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 414, while the number of cases in the country climbed to 12,380. Global tally of the infections has crossed 20 lakh, with over 1.3 lakh deaths.
Meanwhile, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo were in the red. Stock exchanges on Wall Street ended significantly lower in overnight trade. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.66 per cent to USD 28.15 per barrel.