Sensex tumbles 520 pts; auto stocks skid

Equity indices extended losses and hit a fresh intraday low in mid morning trade. The Nifty traded below the crucial 14,400 mark. Barring pharma and metal, all the sectoral indices on the NSE were in the red. Rising COVID-19 cases continue to weigh on investors' sentiment.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 519.58 points or 1.07% at 48,024.49. The Nifty 50 index declined 137.05 points or 0.94% at 14,367.95.

Selling was broad based. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.48% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 1.1%.

The market breadth turned negative. On the BSE, 773 shares rose and 1816 shares fell. A total of 142 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 138,056,297 with 2,971,539 deaths.

India reported 14,71,877 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 173,123 deaths while 124,29,564 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

India on Wednesday reported 2,00,739 new COVID-19 cases and 1,038 deaths in last 24 hours, according to data from the Union Health Ministry.

The total COVID19 vaccinations have crossed the 11.43 crore mark with more than 31.39 lakh vaccine doses were administered till 8 pm yesterday. A total of 69,974 COVID Vaccination Centres (CVCs) were operational, marking a rise of an average of 24,000 operational Vaccination Centres ( 45,000 CVCs on an average are functional on any given day). Workplace vaccinations have also enabled a high turnout of beneficiaries.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index slipped 2.4% to 9,582.65. The index jumped 4.28% in the previous trading session.

Eicher Motors (down 4.22%), Escorts (down 3.86%), Ashok Leyland (down 3.73%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 3.52%), TVS Motor Company (down 2.58%), MRF (down 2.25%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 2.08%), and Bajaj Auto Ltd (down 1.79%) were top losers in auto space.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday. In the US, Wall Street indexes closed mixed on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 falling despite another record intraday high for the latter and big banks' stellar results on the first day of earnings season.

Shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co rose on bumper first-quarter profits. Goldman capitalized on record levels of global dealmaking activity, and Wells reduced bad loan provisions and got a grip on costs tied to its sales practices scandal.

The Federal Reserve will continue to support the recovery, and will start tapering asset purchases well before policy makers consider raising interest rates, Chairman Jerome Powell told the Economic Club of Washington Wednesday.

In coronavirus developments, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel decided Wednesday to postpone a decision on Johnson and Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine following the development of a rare but potentially life-threatening blood-clotting disorder in six women. On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked states to temporarily halt using J&J's Covid-19 vaccine out of an abundance of caution.

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