Benchmark Indices Trade Lower, Covid Risks Weigh

Indian benchmark indices the Nifty and the Sensex opened the day lower as rising Covid 19 cases continued to weigh on the markets.

Indian markets were closed on Wednesday for a festive holiday, on which most global markets declined. On Thursday, most of Asia was trading with good gains, while the Nifty lost 137 points in early trade, making it a third straight trading day of losses for the markets. The Sensex lost almost 470 points in early trade.

Shares in Swaraj Engines gained 6.5 per cent after the company reported higher net profits at Rs 32.6 crore in Q4FY21 against Rs 15.8 crore in Q4FY20. Revenue too at the company jumped to Rs 304.9 crore from Rs 175.1 crore YoY.

TV 18 Broadcast saw its share price rally 4 per cent after the company reported a 76.8% growth in consolidated profit at Rs 251 crore in Q4FY21 against Rs 142 crore in Q4FY20. The shares were last seen trading at Rs 28.80 on the National Stock Exchange.

Among the early losers in trade from the Nifty space were Ultratech Cement, IndusInd Bank, Shree Cements, HeroMoto Corp and Bajaj Finance.

On the other hand, Nifty stocks that gained were Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto and Wipro.