Sensex declines 202 points after choppy trade; Nifty ends below 14,350

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex declined 202 points on Friday, tracking losses in ICICI Bank, Infosys and HUL amid persistent concerns over the economic impact of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

After a volatile session, the 30-share BSE index ended 202.22 points or 0.42 per cent lower at 47,878.45.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty dropped 64.80 points or 0.45 per cent to 14,341.35.

M&M was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 2 per cent, followed by Dr Reddy's Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, HUL, ICICI Bank and Infosys.

On the other hand, PowerGrid, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC and Asian Paints were among the gainers.

"It was a choppy trading day and benchmark indices fell sharply towards the final session of the market mainly led be selling pressure in across the sectors barring PSU Banks. Concerns of rising COVID-19 cases continued to weigh on investors sentiments," said Binod Modi, Head Strategy at Reliance Securities.

According to Rusmik Oza, Executive Vice President, Head of Fundamental Research at Kotak Securities, Indian markets succumbed to FPI selling this week on account of the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases. FPIs have remained net sellers this week with the rupee sustaining at 75 levels against the USD.

"As India has become the epicentre of the virus resurgence, there is fear of potential earnings downgrades which could turn out to be higher in case of mid and small caps vis-?-vis the large caps.

"Fresh lockdowns and restrictions being imposed by various state governments will impact demand and also business activity. The persistent rise in hard commodity prices is a threat which could weigh on margins of many manufacturing companies. Too many potential negatives have come together which could impact markets in the very near future," he said.

India added a record over 3.32 lakh new coronavirus cases in a single day, taking the country's tally to 1,62,63,695, while active cases crossed the 24-lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul ended on a positive note, while Tokyo was in the red.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading with losses in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.06 per cent lower at USD 65.36 per barrel.