Indian shares slipped on Thursday, with declines seen across most sectors after monetary policy minutes revealed strong concerns about elevated inflation, while fears about rising COVID-19 cases in China weighed on sentiment.
The Nifty 50 index was down 0.20% at 18,161.55, as of 10:20 a.m. IST, and the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.19% at 60,937.70. Both indexes had gained over 0.6% in the opening minutes.
Pharma extended gains for a second consecutive session. India’s health minister on Wednesday said the pandemic was “not over yet” given “the rising cases of COVID-19 in some countries”.
All the other major sectoral indexes reversed gains.
“Healthcare, diagnostics and all pharma-linked stocks will be in focus over the next few days due to the re-emergence of COVID-19 cases in China, which has led to worries elsewhere,” said Siddharth Khemka, head of retail research at Mumbai-based Motilal Oswal Services.
Risk-off sentiment will continue to prevail in the market, he added.
Wall Street equities advanced sharply on Wednesday after data showed that consumer confidence in the world’s largest economy rose to an eight-month high in December.
Asian markets also advanced after the bounce in U.S. shares, with the MSCI Asia ex Japan rising 1.49%.
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