Sensex, Nifty end lower on Covid-19 fears, financial stocks suffer

The NSE Nifty 50 Index fell 0.42% to 10,768.05 and the S&P BSE Sensex 0.39% to 36,594.33 points

Indian shares closed lower on Friday as record daily increases of domestic coronavirus cases threatened to disrupt an economic recovery, with financial stocks taking the brunt of the losses.

The NSE Nifty 50 Index fell 0.42 per cent to 10,768.05 and the S&P BSE Sensex 0.39 per cent to 36,594.33 points.

But the indexes closed the week up about 1.5 per cent each, recording their fourth straight weekly gain, following a rally driven by a flush of liquidity and hopes for a Covid-19 vaccine.

Cases in the world’s second-most populous country jumped by 26,506 to 793,802 as of Friday morning, including 21,604 deaths,