Indian markets ended lower on Friday registering a third consecutive week of decline as the deadly wave of coronavirus infections raised concerns over business recovery.
The BSE Sensex slipped 202.22 points or 0.42% to end at 47,878.45. The Nifty dropped 64.80 points or 0.45% before closing at 14,341.35.
For the week, markets lost 1.9% logging the worst weekly fall in nearly two months since 28 February 2021.
In April so far, both the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty are down around 3%, poised to see the worst monthly fall since May last year. However, smaller stocks suffered higher losses this week with BSE Small-Cap index falling 3%.
“The markets continued to remain extremely subdued with losses during the course of the whole week, across sectors and segments. The main reason for the downtrend is the rising cases of the virulent pandemic which is causing unimaginable damage to human life across larger states,” Joseph Thomas, Head of Research, Emkay Wealth Management said.
He added that while the governments and the healthcare systems are battling it out, it may take some time before we may be able to see some light. According to Thomas, it is too early to assess the potential damages, which is why even the markets have not reacted sharply so far. But the probability, of the resurgence of the pandemic impacting growth and therefore, earning, is quite high for the first two quarters of this year.
Surjitt Sahani
