The equity benchmark Sensex gained 871 points on Monday, which led to a sell-off in financial stocks as COVID-19 cases shook investors and expressed concern over the economic recovery. After falling more than 1,400 points earlier in the day, the 30-share BSE index lost some losses at 49,159.32, down 870.51 points or 1.74 percent. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 229.55 points or 1.54 percent to close at 14,637.80 points.
Bajaj Finance topped the Sensex pack by nearly 6 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, SBI, M&M, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto and ICICI Bank.
On the other hand, HCL Tech, TCS and Infosys were among the beneficiaries.
“The market witnessed a huge sell-off today as India’s second wave of COVID-19 is getting bigger as expected and is expected to ruin the pace of economic recovery. Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services, said the higher valuation has raised more concern due to a possible decline in earnings for Q1FY22.
A policy decision in the upcoming MPC announcement and Q4 earnings will define market volatility in the coming days.
The rise in COVID-19 cases in India is a big reminder that there are still recovery challenges, said Lalitabh Srivastava, AVP Research, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.
The rise in the provisional number of major banks indicates a consolidation trend, but encouraging performance on the deposits and CASA front, he said.
Elsewhere in Asia, ended up on a positive note in Seoul and Tokyo. Markets in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Australia were closed for the holidays.
Stock exchanges in Europe also closed.
Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading down 2.20 percent at US $ 63.43 a barrel.
