Indian shares ended lower on Thursday as coronavirus cases continued to rise in the country, putting pressure on an already slowing economy. India has been under the world's most extensive lockdown since late March.
Coronavirus infections in the country reached 52,952, while the death toll stood at 1,783, according to the Health Ministry. There were 3,561 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex fell 242.37 points, or 0.76 percent, to 31,443.38, while the broader NSE Nifty index dropped 71.85 points, or 0.78 percent, to close at 9,199.05.
Among the prominent decliners, Bajaj Auto, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, UPL, Titan, Bharti Airtel, GAIL, Kotak Bank, ONGC, BPCL and NTPC lost 3-4 percent.
On the positive side, Mahindra & Mahindra, JSW Steel, Adani Ports, IndusInd Bank and Infratel climbed 4-7 percent.
Yes Bank soared 6.7 percent after the troubled private sector lender reported a surprise profit for the March quarter on the back of extraordinary income from write-off of additional Tier-1 bonds.
Globally, other Asian markets pared early losses to end mixed after data showed China's exports unexpectedly rose in April aided by stronger shipments to South East Asia.
The surprise rise in exports helped investors shrug off dismal economic data from the U.S. and renewed U.S.-China tensions.
European markets inched higher in early trade as the Bank of England maintained its key interest rate and refrained from unveiling additional quantitative easing, as widely expected.
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December 19, 2025 15:10 ET U.S. inflation data and interest rate decisions by major central banks were the highlights of this busy week for economics news flow. Employment data and survey results on the housing markets also gained attention in the U.S. In Europe, the European Central Bank and Bank of England announced their policy decisions and macroeconomic projections.