(Bloomberg) -- Indian stocks dropped on concern that increasing coronavirus infections and the extension of restrictive measures in some states will hinder a recovery in Asia's third-biggest economy, which has just begun to reopen.
The S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.6% while the NSE Nifty 50 Index dropped 0.7% at the close in Mumbai. Both measures pared earlier losses of as much as 1.5% and remain set for only their second month of gains this year and best quarter since 2009.
“Investors are pricing in the rising pace of infections, which is extending lockdowns at some states and companies,” said Sameer Kalra, an investment strategist at Target Investing in Mumbai. “June-quarter results will be very bad due to a bumpy reopening of the economy.”
The spread of the virus has prompted states including Maharashtra and West Bengal to extend curbs from the world's strictest lockdown imposed since March. With the fourth-highest number of coronavirus infections globally, the South Asian nation is expecting its first contraction in gross domestic product in more than four decades.
The rupee dropped 0.1% to 75.5800 to the U.S. dollar, while the yield on the most-traded 6.45% 2029 government bond was little changed at 6.01%.
The Numbers
- Seventeen of 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. retreated, led by gauges of real estate and metal stocks.
- Axis Bank Ltd. and Tech Mahindra Ltd. were among the top losers on the Sensex Index.
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