Sensex, NSE slide on Covid-19 numbers, banking stocks drag

Domestic shares slid on Monday after daily cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) surpassed 100,000 for the first time and Maharashtra imposed fresh restrictions over the rising infections.

The BSE S&P Sensex was down by 1,046 points or 2.09 per cent at 49,984 and the NSE Nifty 50 index was lower by 249 points or 1.67 per cent to 14,618 at 10:15am. Led by banks and financial companies, 12 of 19 sector sub-indexes at BSE dropped and stocks of hotels and cinema operators also tanked.

At the National Stock Exchange all sectoral indices, except Nifty IT which jumped by 1.8 per cent, were in the red with Nifty private bank down by 2 per cent, PSU bank and financial service by 1.9 per cent each, realty by 1.4 per cent and auto by 0.8 per cent.

Among the lenders, IndusInd Bank lost by 3.6 per cent to ₹962.05 per share, Axis Bank was down by 2.4 per cent and ICICI Bank by 2.2 per cent. State Bank of India fell by 2.3 per cent, Bajaj Finance by 3.6 per cent and Bajaj Finserv by 2 per cent. Home loan lender dropped by 2.3 per cent to ₹2,472.90 per unit.

Among stocks that were in the green included, IT software major Infosys was up by 2.5 per cent, Wipro by 2.2 per cent and HCL Technologies by 2 per cent. Wipro, Britannia, JSW Steel and Cipla too traded with a positive bias.