Indian shares tracked their global counterparts to edge lower on Thursday on rising concerns about the long and difficult path to economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
The country is staring at a prolonged slowdown as the health crisis grips rural areas, according to government and analysts. Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve minutes showed policymakers remained doubtful about a swift rebound in economic growth.
The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.73% to 11,325.80 by 0348 GMT and the S&P BSE Sensex slipped 0.77% to 38,320.26.
Both indexes were on track to snap three straight sessions of gains and the Nifty has risen over 2% this week.
Other Asian markets slipped and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.24%.
Coronavirus cases continued to rise in India, reporting a record daily jump of 69,652 infections on Thursday morning, taking the total cases to 2.84 million and deaths to 53,866.
In Mumbai trading, 48 of the 50 stocks on the Nifty 50 index and nine of the 11 major sectoral indexes were trading lower.
The Nifty metal index slipped 1.35% and the Nifty realty index, which tracks real estate firms, was down 1.13%.
Bucking the trend, the Nifty pharma index was up in early trade.
