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By Soumyajit Saha
BENGALURU, April 19 (Reuters) - Indian shares dropped on Monday as the country struggled to contain an unrelenting surge in coronavirus infections that fuelled fears of harsher restrictions and more economic pain.
The NSE Nifty 50 index .NSEI was down 2.6% at 14,241.90 by 0430 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex .BSESN also declined 2.7% at 47,524.47.
India on Monday reported its tenth record daily increase in COVID-19 cases in eleven days, with the capital city of New Delhi — currently under a weekend curfew — reporting a shortage in critical-care beds. surge in (COVID-19) infections looks uncontrollable right now... the numbers will stabilise but investors are worried about how long it will take and how much stress the medical system will be able to bear," said Siddharth Khemka, head of retail research at Motilal Oswal (NS:MOFS) Financial Services.
"An entire economic cycle is set to be impacted as cases rise and related curbs are increased," Khemka said.
The state of Maharashtra, home to financial hub Mumbai, is already under a lockdown since April 15. banks .NIFTYPSU led the declines among sectors as the index dropped more than 5%, and was on track for its third straight session of losses.
Private banks .NIFPVTBNK fell over 4%, with lending heavyweight HDFC Bank HDBK.NS driving the losses on the benchmark index.
The bank on Saturday reported a more than 18% increase in its quarterly profit, but said the second coronavirus wave would impact its future results. stocks .NIFTYAUTO dropped over 3%, with Tata Motors TAMO.NS falling more than 5%.
Energy stocks .NIFTYENR fell 2.4% as oil prices dropped on fears of restrictions due to the surge in COVID-19 cases. Metal stocks .NIFTYMET shed 1.9%. O/R
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