Indian shares slid on Monday as Asia's third-biggest economy looked set to extend a lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus, while a rise in oil prices also weighed on sentiment.
After falling 2.2 per cent each in early trading, the NSE Nifty 50 index pared some losses and was down 1.52 per cent at 8,976.35 by 0507 GMT, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex fell 1.62 per cent to 30,651.46.
India will extend the 21-day lockdown due to end Tuesday, according to a state chief minister with knowledge of discussions among top officials, although the federal government has yet to make an announcement. As of Monday, the country has reported 9,152 confirmed cases and 308 deaths.
"The likely extension of the lockdown has injured sentiment as people were expecting some industries to come back on track," said Samrat Dasgupta, CEO at Esquire Capital Investment Advisors.
"Further clarity on which parts of the country are coming out of lockdown and which sectors get relaxations on operations will steady the market."
The industries ministry on Monday recommended restarting some manufacturing in the auto, textile, defence, electronics and other sectors, according to a letter seen by Reuters, to help offset the economic damage of the lockdown.
The sentiment was also hit by a more than $1 a barrel jump in oil prices after top producers agreed to their biggest-ever output cut. India is one of the world's top oil importers, making it susceptible to higher crude prices.
Conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd was the biggest drag on the indexes, falling as much as 3.3 per cent, while private-sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd dropped 4 per cent.
Broadcasting firm Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd plunged 14.6 per cent after announcing Thursday it would invest 5.22 billion rupees ($68.59 million) in its technology arm SugarBox.
Data due later in the day is expected to show India's retail inflation dropped to a four-month low in March on softer food and fuel prices and as demand likely plummeted due to the lockdown, according to a Reuters poll.
