The Indian equity benchmarks fell for second straight session on Monday dragged by losses in heavyweights like Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC, Bajaj Finance and Larsen & Toubro. The Sensex fell as much as 993 points and Nifty 50 index dropped below its important psychological level of 14,750. Buying at lower levels amid positive European markets and Dow futures helped benchmarks recover some lost ground in the last hour of trade.
The Sensex ended 397 points or 0.78 per cent lower at 50,395.08 and Nifty 50 index declined 101 points or 0.67 per cent to settle at 14,929.
Government data showed annual retail inflation rose to 5.03 per cent in February on higher fuel prices, which could pressure the central bank’s accommodative stance and raise interest rates which are at all-time low. Data also showed industrial output as measured by the Index of Industrial Production contracted 1.6 per cent year-on-year in January.
Resurgence in COVID-19 cases also weighed on the investor sentiment. The country reported this year’s biggest daily rise in cases of 26,291 on Monday. India is the third-worst affected country globally with 11.39 million cases, behind the United States and Brazil.