Indian shares ended flat on Friday as domestic coronavirus cases topped two million, taking the shine off market optimism following the central bank’s relief measures for the economy.
Most of the 11 major sectors saw moves of less than 1% in subdued trading, a day after a sharp rise thanks to the Reserve Bank of India’s one-time loan restructuring scheme aimed at companies battered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
India’s coronavirus infections jumped by a daily record of 62,538 on Friday to 2.03 million, the world’s third biggest caseload after the United States and Brazil.
The Nifty, which climbed 0.9% on Thursday, closed 0.12% higher at 11,214.80, while the Sensex ended up 0.04% at 38,040.57.
Meanwhile, India’s small-cap and mid-cap shares clocked gains of 0.78% and 1.44%, respectively after a clutch of positive earnings reports.
Honeywell Automation India Ltd surged 15% and Bayer CropScience Ltd jumped 8.8% after their June-quarter profits topped analysts’ estimates.
Generic drugmaker Lupin Ltd ended 5.8% lower after its sales and earnings were hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a sign of investor enthusiasm for the real estate sector, shares in Blackstone-backed Mindspace Business Parks closed 10.2% higher in their market debut.
On the Nifty 50, IT services firms Infosys and HCL Technologies were the biggest drags, falling 2% each.
Meanwhile, other Asian stocks and European markets fell after US President Donald Trump ratcheted up simmering tensions with China by banning US transactions with two popular Chinese apps.
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