Covid-19 impact on markets: Sensex, Nifty record worst month since recession years

Indian shares closed higher on Tuesday, tracking broader Asian markets, but recorded their worst monthly and yearly performance in over a decade as the country grappled with the disruption caused by the fast-spreading coronavirus.

The broader Nifty ended 3.82{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58} higher at 8,597.75 and the benchmark Sensex closed up 3.62{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58} at 29,468.49.

However, both the indexes posted their worst monthly fall since October 2008 and their worst annual fall since 2009 due to the coronavirus-led selloff and a sluggish domestic economy.

India reported its steepest single-day rise of 227 fresh coronavirus cases by Monday evening, taking the total number of infected people to 1,251.

The rising cases come amid a 21-day lockdown that began last week, and which the government said it had no plans to extend.

The country’s benchmark 10-year bond yield was at 6.08{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58}, compared with its previous close of 6.21{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58}, while the rupee strengthened 0.15{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58} against the dollar by 1011 GMT on Tuesday.

In the equities market, metal stocks gained the most among sectors, with the Nifty metals index closing up 5.19{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58}. The Nifty pharma index gained 4.07{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58}.

Oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd rose 15.3{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58} and was the top gainer among the blue-chip stocks, while Indusind Bank shed 15{b1ee4ac4d8d7b8e1af61a560a11ca52574b8103b547ccac8037ce0cdf9e7ba58} and was the top laggard.