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Indian equity benchmarks ended the Friday’s trade on quiet note as traders remain worried over the economic impact of the second wave of COVID-19 and lockdowns and restrictions in various states. The Maharashtra government has extended the lockdown-like restrictions in the state till June 1 to break the chain of COVID-19. However, drop in Covid cases limit the downside. India reported a dip in fresh Covid cases to below 3.5 lakh mark at 3,43,122. This was lower than Wednesday's figure of 3,62,720 cases. However, traders took some support from IIP and CPI numbers. India’s factory output climbed 22.4 per cent in March, benefiting from the base effect of the lockdown-marred month a year back as well as a turnaround in the manufacturing sector, while retail inflation slipped to a three-month low of 4.29 per cent in April. Investors are eyeing WPI inflation data for April slated to be declared later in the day.

Markets traded in tight range near neutral lines and ended almost flat as reports states that earnings in Q1 FY22 will be lower than initial estimates, also weigh down sentiments. Though, trader took some solace with private report stating that the value of foreign portfolio investors' (FPI) holdings in domestic equities reached $552 billion in three months to March 2021, a surge of 7 per cent from the preceding quarter. This was largely on the back of robust net inflows from FPIs, coupled with a strong performance of the Indian equity markets. Besides, Retailers Association of India (RAI) said workers and businesses in the retail industry are in need of urgent support as the restrictions to combat the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has hit them hard. With the days of the lockdown continuing to extend in various parts of the country, RAI said it is getting increasingly difficult for retailers to retain employees and to keep their businesses afloat, and there is a need to inject capital into the industry.

On the global front, European markets were trading higher helped by the rebound on Wall Street as Federal Reserve officials managed to ease investor jitters over growing inflationary pressures. Asian markets ended mostly higher on Friday, after export prices in South Korea were up 10.6 percent on year in April, the Bank of Korea said on Friday - after rising 5.9 percent in the previous month. Import prices spiked an annual 15.0 percent in April after climbing 9.0 percent a month earlier. Individually, export prices for agricultural and marine products fell 4.2 percent on year and manufactured products jumped 10.7 percent.

Back home, FMCG stocks remained in focus with a private report indicating that the April-June period remains largely volatile and dynamic for the country's Rs 4.3-trillion fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry as the second Covid-19 wave rages on. Jewellery stocks remained in focus on report that Akshaya Tritiya, a highly auspicious day to purchase gold, has started on a sombre note and jewellers are expecting only 10-15 per cent sales as the onset of the COVID-19 second wave, local restrictions and partial lockdowns have affected consumer sentiment.

Finally, the BSE Sensex gained 41.75 points or 0.09% to 48,732.55, while the CNX Nifty was down by 18.70 points or 0.13% to 14,677.80.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 48,898.93 and 48,473.43, respectively and there were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 1.14%, while Small cap index was down by 1.18%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 2.00%, Capital Goods up by 0.62% and Consumer Durables up by 0.21%, while Metal down by 3.61%, Realty down by 3.31%, PSU down by 2.20%, Utilities down by 2.14% and Auto down by 2.03% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 8.51%, ITC up by 4.45%, Nestle up by 3.01%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.21% and Hindustan Unilever up by 2.05%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.82%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.45%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 2.00%, SBI down by 2.00% and ONGC down by 1.78% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with the days of the lockdown continuing to extend in various parts of the country to combat the second wave of the COVID-19, Retailers Association of India (RAI) has said that workers and businesses in the retail industry are in need of urgent support.

RAI further said that it is getting increasingly difficult for retailers to retain employees and to keep their businesses afloat, and there is a need to inject capital into the industry. It noted that retailers need to pay salaries, minimum electricity, rentals, property taxes, etc. even if the businesses are shut due to lockdown. The cash inflow of the industry has come to a standstill, while the fixed operating costs remain intact.

Retailers Association of India is expecting that the immense financial stress faced by the retail sector will adversely impact both livelihood and the exposures of financial institutions to the sector as retailers start to become insolvent. Therefore, RAI underlined the two most important and immediate steps that can prevent this industry from collapsing are to prioritise vaccination of the last mile workers and to urgently provide financial support measures.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 14,591.90 and 14,749.65and there were 16 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints up by 8.54%, UPL up by 7.47%, ITC up by 4.43%, Nestle up by 3.03% and Larsen & Toubro up by 2.18%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 4.36%, Tata Motors down by 4.22%, Hindalco down by 4.01%, Tata Steel down by 3.99% and Grasim Industries down by 3.21% were the top losers.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 54.15 points or 0.78% to 7,017.48, France’s CAC increased 34.17 points or 0.54% to 6,322.50 and Germany’s DAX was up by 55.12 points or 0.36% to 15,254.80.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Friday, tracking Wall Street gains overnight as comments from US Federal Reserve officials helped ease concerns over inflation and immediate policy tightening. US Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said the Fed would not raise interest rates until it sees inflation above target for a long time, or excessively high inflation. Meanwhile, US data showed fewer Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week and producer price index surged last month. Japanese shares rose on positive corporate earnings despite resurgence in Covid-19 cases in Japan. Chinese shares also gained even with focus on the development of Sino-US relations.

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