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Indian equity benchmarks ended sharply lower with losses of over one and half percent on Wednesday dragged by heavy selling across the board. All the major sectoral indices ended in the red with Realty, Metal, Auto and Banking falling the most. Key gauges made gap-down start and stayed in red terrain for whole day, as rising coronavirus cases in the country dampened the sentiments in the markets. India recorded 47,264 new cases, taking to tally to 11,733,594, according to Worldometer. The death toll from the deadly infection jumped to 160,477. India has the 7th highest number of active cases globally. Maharashtra recorded 28,699 new Covid-19 cases and 132 deaths. Sentiments remained down-beat with the IMF's managing director stating that prospects for a recovery from the COVID-induced economic slowdown are uncertain and uneven, with some emerging economies and almost all low-income countries at risk of lower growth. Traders also took a note of reports that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman raised the limit for tax exemption on interest earned on provident fund contribution by employees to Rs 5 lakh per annum in specified cases as against Rs 2.5 lakh proposed in the Budget.

Key indices extended losses in late afternoon deals, amid weak global cues. The impending expiry of futures and options monthly contracts on Thursday added further pressure on the markets. Traders overlooked Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur’s statement that increased economic activities have resulted in higher GST collection which stood above Rs 1 lakh crore for five months in a row since October 2020. He said this could be possible on the back of the measures taken by the government to boost economic activities over the last year to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Market participants also paid no heed towards survey by Nasscom stated that chief executive officers (CEO) of Indian technology companies are most optimistic about the global economy, with 97 per cent believing that 2021 will be better than the difficult year of 2020. 

On the global front, Asian markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday, while European markets were trading lower, as investors remained wary of spikes in coronavirus cases in major economies, including Germany, France and Italy. However, the latest survey from Jibun Bank showed the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to expand in March, and at a slightly faster pace, with a manufacturing PMI score of 52.0, up from 51.4 in February. The services PMI came in at 46.5, up from 45.8 in February. European markets were trading lower, as the sluggish vaccination campaign in Europe, sinking crude oil prices and increasing tensions between China and Western nations also rattled investors.

Back home, aviation stocks were trading under pressure as Indian aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the coronavirus-induced suspension of scheduled international passenger flights has been extended till April 30. In scrip specific development, Vodafone Idea lost after increasing the prices of its Family postpaid plans. Stocks related to Telecom sector were in watch as India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) said providing services like broadband connectivity, cable TV, enterprise solutions, and payment wallets is the need of the hour for telcos, and a second wave of consolidation is upon the industry.  The agency said the sector, which was battered following the aggressive entry of Reliance Jio, will continue showing signs of recovery amid conducive regulatory environment and maintained a stable outlook for the industry in FY22.

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 871.13 points or 1.74% to 49,180.31, while the CNX Nifty was down by 265.35 points or 1.79% to 14,549.40.   

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 49,854.58 and 49,120.34, respectively. There were 2 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.   

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 1.69%, while Small cap index was down by 1.60%.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty down by 2.93%, Metal down by 2.75%, Auto down by 2.60%, Bankex down by 2.53% and Industrials down by 2.45%, while there were no gaining sectoral indices on the BSE.

The few gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 1.44% and Power Grid up by 0.98%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.97%, SBI down by 3.38%, Axis Bank down by 3.33%, ICICI Bank down by 3.22% and Indusind Bank down by 3.07% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Singh Thakur has said that steps taken by the government during the coronavirus disease (covid-19) pandemic have helped the economy recover, and the country is expected to clock double-digit growth in the next fiscal.

The minister has stated that the government will spend Rs 1.97 lakh crore on production-linked incentive (PLI) and has identified more than 10 sectors to be included, which would in turn create job opportunities for the youth. He also said people who are raising apprehension about the recovery of the economy should see GST collections of the past few months. He noted that the GST collection rose, which was over Rs 1.10 lakh crore in the last five year. This was because of the policy adopted by our government.

On the public sector undertakings, Thakur said no one can deny about their contribution, but, with the passage of time, several things have changed. He also said disinvestment has been the policy of every government and even the previous government had tried this and the government has a clear and transparent policy in this regard. He said ‘we have brought schemes as PLI in mobile manufacturing. Earlier, India had only two mobile manufacturing industry and within five years, we have become the second-largest mobile manufacturer of the world.’

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 14,752.35 and 14,535.00. There were 3 stocks advancing against 47 stock declining on the index. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Cipla up by 1.82%, Asian Paints up by 1.36% and Power Grid up by 0.94%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 4.68%, Tata Motors down by 4.15%, Adani Ports &Special down by 4.03%, Hindalco down by 3.77% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.75% were the top losers.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 15.85 points or 0.24% to 6,683.34, France’s CAC fell 10.39 points or 0.17% to 5,934.91 and Germany’s DAX was down by 63.32 points or 0.43% to 14,598.70.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday as sinking crude oil prices and concerns about the return of corona-virus lockdowns in Europe dented investor hopes of global economic recovery. Moreover, Europe’s sluggish vaccination campaign too pressurizing market sentiments. Chinese shares declined as policy tightening concerns persisted, while escalating tensions between China and major western nations too weighed on investor sentiments. Japanese shares ended lower following weak cues from Wall Street overnight. While members of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy board said that it would maintain stimulus in the face of the corona-virus crisis as long as necessary, minutes from the bank's meeting on January 20 and 21 revealed on Wednesday.