Benchmarks hit day's low amid rising Covid-19 cases; auto shares skid

Key equity benchmarks extended early losses and hit the day's low in morning trade. Auto stocks declined across the board. At 10:21 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 565.77 points or 1.13% to 49,485.67. The Nifty 50 index lost 181.05 points or 1.22% to 14,633.70.

Domestic shares mirrored the weakness in other Asian peers as rising Covid-19 cases drove demand for safe assets, resulting into flight of capital into treasuries and the dollar. Germany, France and Italy have widened virus-related curbs. The head of the World Health Organization called recent increases in deaths and cases "truly worrying trends." Consequently, the crude oil was struggling to hold above the $60 mark after it dropped nearly 6% in the previous session as renewed possibility of lockdowns clouded hopes of recovery in consumption.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.89% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.53%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 830 shares rose and 1556 shares fell. A total of 138 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 124,143,841 with 2,733,634 deaths. India reported 368,457 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 160,441 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

India recorded 47,262 new cases of the coronavirus disease in a timespan of 24 hours, according to Union health ministry update on Wednesday. Maharashtra recorded 28,699 new Covid-19 cases and 132 deaths. The five most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra (2,533,026), Kerala (1,105,467), Karnataka (971,647), Andhra Pradesh (894,044), and Tamil Nadu (868,367).

Meanwhile, the government has decided to open up its vaccination drive for all above 45 years of age from 1 April 2021, and requested that all eligible people should immediately register and get vaccinated. The rest of the population could be considered for vaccination coverage once the current stage is over.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index fell 1.13% to 10,072.40. The index advanced 0.47% on Tuesday.

Tata Motors (down 2.21%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 1.71%), Maruti Suzuki (down 1.37%), Ashok Leyland (down 1.09%), Bharat Forge (down 1.07%), Bajaj Auto (down 0.92%), TVS Motor Company (down 0.95%) and Eicher Motors (down 0.38%) declined.

Hero MotoCorp shed 0.05% to Rs 3065.65. The two-wheeler major said it will hike the ex-showroom prices of its motorcycles and scooters, with effect from 1 April 2021, to partially offset the impact of increased commodity costs.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals was down 0.93%. The company has received a final approval from the USFDA for chlorpromazine hydrochloride tablets, a generic version of Thorazin tablets of GlaxoSmithKline. The antipsychotic medication is primarily used to treat psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. According to IQVIA sales data for the 12-month period ended January 2021, Thorazine Tablets, achieved annual sales of approximately $108.6 million.

Vascon Engineers jumped 8.29% to Rs 18.95 after the company emerged as the lowest bidder for two projects floated by the Uttar Pradesh Public Works Department. The projects are for the establishment of new medical colleges attached with existing district hospitals in Bijnor and Kaushambi valued at Rs 246.09 crore and Rs 269.54 crore, respectively.

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