In April so far, both benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty are down nearly 3%.

"We did not break 14,200-14,250 on a closing basis and hence the onset of a bear market cannot be confirmed. This patch is a good support for the Nifty and if we disrespect this, we can drift to 13,800-13,900," said Manish Hathiramani, proprietary index trader and technical analyst, Deen Dayal Investments.

Stocks & sectors

On the BSE, the realty index slipped 4 percent and the capital goods index fell 3 percent. However, oil & gas, power, FMCG, bank and auto indices shed 1-3 percent.

Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 100 percent was seen in Apollo Hospitals, Bata India and Mindtree.

Long buildup was seen in Pfizer, Lupin and Apollo Hospitals, while a short buildup was seen in AU Small Finance Bank, Bajaj Finance and Ashok Leyland.

More than 100 stocks, including Cipla, Cadila Healthcare, Subex and Caplin Point Laboratories, hit a fresh 52-week high on the BSE.

He added that while governments and healthcare systems are battling the virus, it may take some time before there is improvement.

According to Thomas, it is too early to assess the damage, which is why even the markets have not reacted sharply so far.

But the probability of the resurgence impacting growth and therefore, earnings, is quite high for the first two quarters of this year.

Banking stocks down in red

IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and State Bank of India were among the worst-performing stocks on Sensex ahead of the closing bell. Bank Nifty was down 0.60%

Rusmik Oza, executive vice president and head of fundamental research at Kotak Securities said, “Indian markets succumbed to FIIs’ selling this week on account of the sharp rise in covid cases. Fresh lockdowns and restrictions being imposed by various state governments will impact demand and also business activity. The persistent rise in hard commodity prices is a threat which could weigh on margins of many manufacturing companies. Too many potential negatives have come together, which could impact markets in the very near future."