Equities end flat amid volatility, rising covid cases (Lead)

Mumbai, June 25 (IANS) Amidst a largely volatile trade session, the Indian stock market settled on a flat-to-negative note on Thursday.Decline in the global markets also weighed on the domestic investor sentiments. Surging numbers of coronavirus cases across the globe, and in India, have dampened hopes of an early recovery of the global economy.Stocks were also weighed down after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised the global and Indian economic outlook on Wednesday.Covid-19 battered India's economy is projected to contract by 4.5 per cent this fiscal, said the IMF and the global output is projected to decline by 4.9 per cent in 2020, 1.9 percentage points below the IMF's April forecast. Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said: "Given the sharp rally over the last few days, the market seems to be taking pause at this juncture. As the concerns continue to linger over the fast rising coronavirus cases globally along with the geo-political tensions, we would advise investors to stay cautious and focus more on stock specific action."Global sentiments were negative as a surge in US coronavirus cases intensified fears of another round of government lockdowns and worsening economic damage, he said, adding that on the domestic front, the monthly F&O expiry contracts fuelled further volatility in the market.The BSE Sensex closed at 34,842.10, lower by 26.88 or 0.08 per cent from its previous close of 34,868.98.AIt had opened at 34,525.39 and touched an intra-day high of 35,081.61 and a low of 34,499.78 points.The Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange was trading at 10,288.90, lower by 16.40 points or 0.16 per cent from its previous close.Among the stocks, the top gainers were ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Hero MotoCorp, while the major losers were Asian Paints, Infosys and HCL Technologies.
--IANS rrb/sn/vd