Indian shares fell on Monday as the country recorded more cases of the Omicron variant over the weekend, while investors awaited a central bank decision that could leave interest rates on hold to sustain an economic recovery from the pandemic lows in 2020.
Indian equities will not recoup recent losses until after mid-2022 on worries over COVID-19 resurgence and global monetary policy tightening, according to a Reuters poll of strategists which showed a correction was likely in the next six months.
India's central bank said on Friday it would reform rules on the structure of private sector banks but a source familiar with the matter said the changes would not include allowing industrial groups to own lenders.
India's central bank said on Monday that policy support is needed for longer for a sustained recovery in Asia's third largest economy from a coronavirus induced slowdown, even as demand has picked up.
India is nearing a big shift in its long-term goal of achieving open access to and convertibility in its markets with greater global integration and freer non-resident access to debt, Reserve Bank of India deputy governor T. Rabi Sankar said.