Why Shares Fell Today (Omicron Was One Cause)
NDTV
Indian shares closed nearly 2 per centlower on Monday, hurt by a selloff in IT stocks, as increasing cases of the Omicron variant spooked investors
Indian shares closed nearly 2 per cent lower on Monday, hurt by a selloff in information technology (IT) stocks, as increasing cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant spooked investors ahead of the central bank's decision on interest rates.
The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index slipped below the 17,000 mark and was down 1.65 per cent at 16,912.25, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was 1.65 per cent lower at 56,742.35 at the closing bell. Both indexes posted their lowest close since August 27.
Most major sub-indexes ended lower, with IT, auto and pharma stocks falling the most, as India's tally of reported cases of the heavily mutated Omicron coronavirus variant rose to 12 on Sunday.
"Ambiguity surrounding Omicron continued to dent the morale of domestic investors ahead of the important Reserve Bank of India (RBI) policy announcement on Wednesday," said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.
