Indian equity benchmarks witnessed bloodbath on Monday and settled below their crucial 48,000 (Sensex) and 14,400 (Nifty) levels amid continue rising COVID-19 cases in the country and stricter restrictions imposed in various states. Markets made a gap-down opening as traders remain concerned on report that India reported 275,306 coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases, the highest single-day spike so far since the pandemic broke out, Worldometer showed. With this, India's Covid tally has shot up to 15,057,767 cases. Adding more pessimism, a private report stated that leading brokerages have downgraded India's GDP growth projections for the current fiscal year to as low as 10 per cent on local lockdowns threatening fragile recovery, with the resurgence of COVID-19 cases posing risks to economic recovery. Also, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pulled out a net Rs 4,615 crore from Indian markets in April so far amid sharp escalation in COVID-19 cases and the consequent restrictions imposed by various states, unnerving overseas investors. Markets traded in deep red throughout the day as sentiments remain dampened after the Shopping Centres Association of India (SCAI) said that businesses have been severely impacted, with the revenue falling by almost 50 per cent due to localised lockdowns to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the country. Many state governments have imposed restrictions and localised lockdowns to stop the spread of the virus. However, markets managed to trim some of their losses in the later part of trade after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said she has taken inputs from various industry chambers on concerns of India Inc with regard to the management of COVID pandemic and the centre would continue to work with state governments to save lives and livelihood. She sought feedback from businesses to deal with the impact of the second COVID-19 wave on the country's economy. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 882.61 points or 1.81% to 47949.42, while the CNX Nifty was down by 258.40 points or 1.77% to 14359.45.   

The US markets ended lower on Monday as investors largely stayed cautious amid a lack of triggers, and looked ahead to more earnings news and economic data. Further, geopolitical concerns and worries about spikes in coronavirus cases in several countries raised uncertainty about the pace of global economic recovery, contributing to the lackluster movements in the market. The market's retreat was due largely to some heavy selling in the technology space. US stocks had moved on to historic highs last week, riding on buoyant economic data and some upbeat earnings announcements. Coca-Cola revealed earnings for first quarter that declined from the same period last year. The company's profit came in at $2.25 billion, or $0.52 per share. This compares with $2.78 billion, or $0.64 per share, in last year's first quarter. Meanwhile, White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said he expects the US will resume administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration asked states last week to temporarily halt using the single dose vaccine out of an abundance of caution after six women developed a rare blood-clotting disorder.

Crude oil futures end higher on Monday as prices moved higher amid expectations of a drop in global crude supply. According to private report, Libya has halted output at some of its oil fields. Report said National Oil Corp has declared force majeure on exports from the port of Hariga. Meanwhile, a weak dollar also contributed to oil's uptick. The dollar index dropped to 91.03, losing about 0.6%. However, concerns about outlook for energy demand amid rising coronavirus cases in several countries. A report from Johns Hopkins University said the overall global Covid-19 caseload has topped 141.1 million. The US is the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases, and India follows in the second place. Hong Kong said that it will suspend flights from India, Pakistan and the Philippines from Tuesday due to imported coronavirus infections. Crude oil futures for May rose $0.25 or 0.4 percent to settle at $63.38 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. June Brent crude gained $0.28 or 0.42 percent to settle at $67.05 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Indian rupee ended lower against dollar on Monday amid fears that a rapid resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the country could disrupt economic recovery. Sentiments were fragile as Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pulled out a net Rs 4,615 crore from Indian markets in April so far amid sharp escalation in COVID-19 cases and the consequent restrictions imposed by various states, unnerving overseas investors. Also, weakness in equity markets put pressure on the domestic currency. On the global front, pound rose and hit a two-week high against the dollar on Monday ahead of a data-heavy week that is expected to provide more evidence that Britain's economy is rebounding from its deepest recession in 300 years. Finally, the rupee ended 74.87, weaker by 52 paise from its previous close of 74.35 on Friday. The currency touched a high and low of 75.05 and 74.79 respectively.

The FIIs as per Monday's data were net seller in equity segment, while net buyer in debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 9339.25 crore against gross selling of Rs 10083.94 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 2343.07 crore with gross sales of Rs 243.51 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 3.94 crore against gross selling of Rs 12.19 crore.

The US markets ended lower on Monday as weakness in the technology sector weighed on the markets. Asian markets were trading mostly higher in early deals on Tuesday, led by a stronger Chinese opening and shaking off the initial drag from tech-driven Wall Street losses. Domestic benchmark indices plummeted on Monday as rising coronavirus cases and resultant lockdown continued to spook investors. Today, the start of session is likely to be positive. Traders will be getting support with report that the government announced a liberalised and accelerated Covid-19 vaccination programme beginning May 1, where all above 18 years of age will be eligible to be vaccinated. Also, vaccine manufacturers have been empowered to release up to 50% of supplies directly to state governments and in the open market at pre-declared prices, a move that would boost availability of the prophylactics to the people. Meanwhile, India reported a slight decline of 256,947 in the number of fresh coronavirus (Covid-19) cases on Tuesday, Worldometer showed. With this, India's Covid tally has shot up to 15,314,714 cases. India, however, reported the highest-ever single-day spike in Covid-related deaths with 1,757 fatalities. The death toll from the deadly infection stands at 180,550. The country now has over 2 million active cases. Traders may take note of report that the Reserve Bank of India has formed a six-member panel headed by Sudarshan Sen, former Executive Director, to carry out comprehensive review of the working of Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) in the financial sector ecosystem. The panel will recommend suitable measures for enabling such entities to meet the growing requirements of the financial sector. The Committee will submit its report within three months from the date of its first meeting. However, traders will be concerned with a private report stating that the pandemic has impacted the working capital management for companies and stretched top-500 listed companies' cash cycles by six days. There may also be some cautiousness as the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) in its latest data has said unemployment rate in urban India has been on the upswing since the beginning of the current month. From 7.21% on April 4, it jumped to 9.81% for the week ended April 11 and further to 10.72% for the week ended April 18. This reflects a shift in the burden of job losses to urban India, reversing the trend of rural India largely bearing the brunt of Covid-induced strain on employment.

Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)

Nifty Top volumes

•  HDFC Bank has reported a rise of 18.17% in its net profit at Rs 8,186.51 crore for Q4FY21 as compared to Rs 6,927.69 crore for Q4FY20.
•  Tata Steel is supplying up to 300 tonnes of medical oxygen on a daily basis to various state governments and hospitals for treatment of COVID-19 patients.
•  Fintech innovation cluster Copenhagen Fintech has entered into a collaboration with Infosys to strengthen connections across the innovation ecosystem.
•  HCL Technologies has signed a multi-million dollar digital transformation and hybrid cloud contract with UD Trucks.