Indian shares fell on Thursday, led by losses in financial and technology companies, as sentiment was weighed by concerns over the economic impact of surging coronavirus cases.

The bluechip NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.5 to 14,479 and the benchmark SP BSE Sensex dropped 0.4 to 48,967.88, as of 0347 GMT. The indexes fell nearly 2 in the previous session.

Indias daily COVID19 cases hit an over fourmonth high on Wednesday and the country has put a temporary hold on all major exports of the AstraZeneca coronavirus shot made by the Serum Institute of India to meet domestic demand.

Shares of speciality chemicals maker Laxmi Organic Industries and engineering company Craftsman Automation are set to debut in the Mumbai market on Thursday.

Asian equities bounced between gains and losses as a selloff in Chinese technology shares due to concerns they will be delisted from U.S. bourses and worries about a semiconductor shortage rattled some investors.

Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel

Source Reuters