Domestic benchmark indices started the week’s first trading session in the negative territory. S&P BSE Sensex dives nearly 400 points, giving up 50,000 mark. Nifty 50 index gave up 14,800. Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and HCL Technologies were the only gainers on Sensex. Bajaj Finance and IndusInd Bank were the top drags, falling over 2% each, followed by Bajaj Auto. India VIX, the volatility gauge surged 6.5% to breach 21 levels again. Among sectoral indices, Nifty IT and Nifty metal were the only indices to record gains.
With India witnessing the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the growth outlook for the economy still remains intact. Nomura said that its baseline projection for FY22 GDP growth is 13.5% on-year, up from an estimated -7.4% in FY21. Nomura said that the second wave is hitting the high-frequency data such as mobility and traffic, especially in the worst-affected state of Maharashtra. “In our view, since the second wave started only towards the end of March, and as the economy normalised rapidly in January and February, the second wave is unlikely to have a major impact on Q1 GDP growth, and our estimate of 1.0% on-year appears reasonable,” the report said. However, a prolonged second wave with increased restrictions, according to Nomura, could have an impact on Q2 numbers.