Omicron: Uday Kotak Critical Of Policymakers as Stock Markets Crash Amid Covid Scare

The Omicron variant of Covid-19, first detected in South Africa, has begun to grip the world in fear of the pandemic yet again, and the ripple was felt in the business sector too over the past few days. Reacting to the spiralling run of Indian stock markets, Kotak Mahindra managing director Uday Kotak on Monday, November 29, said people, markets and policymakers will “will shoot from the hip in crisis management without data”. The Omicron variant, termed as a variant of concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO), has emerged recently, much to the concern of everyone around the world with its ability to spread fast among masses.

“Omicron variant scare today, something else tomorrow. People, markets, and policymakers worldwide will shoot from the hip in crisis management without data. Welcome to the ‘never’ normal world we live in!” Uday Kotak tweeted on the day.

Key stock indices Sensex and Nifty declined by more than 1 per cent in the early trade on Monday due to deep losses in financials, IT and auto stocks amid lingering worries over the Omicron variant. The 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled by 585.22 points or 1.02 per cent to 56,521.93 points with 25 of its components trading in the red.

The broader Nifty of the National Stock Exchange tanked 191.40 points or 1.12 pc to 16,835.05 as Adani Ports, Tata Motors and Hero MotoCorp dropped. Among Sensex stocks, HDFC fell by 1.61 per cent, HUL by 1.22 per cent, and Maruti by 0.88 per cent. Asian Paints, Bajaj Auto, UltraTech Cement, ITC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys, and SBI were among the major losers.

The World Health Organisation has said it is not yet clear whether the newly-detected coronavirus variant Omicron, or B.1.1.529, is more transmissible or causes more severe disease compared to other variants, including the highly-transmissible and globally prevalent Delta variant. There is currently no information to suggest that symptoms associated with Omicron are different from those from other variants, the WHO said, It added that initial reported infections were among university studies — younger individuals who tend to have more mild disease — but understanding the level of severity of the Omicron variant will take days to several weeks.

However, countries have already rushed to close its borders for other countries, especially those in South Africa amid Omicron scare. Passengers travelling from or transiting through “at-risk” countries will have to undergo RT-PCR test on arrival in India and will be required to wait for the results before leaving the airport or taking a connecting flight, according to revised guidelines issued on Sunday by the government. Travellers coming from countries other than those listed as “at risk” will be allowed to leave the airport and shall self-monitor their health for 14 days after arrival, but five per cent of them will be randomly tested at the airport, the guidelines issued by the Union Health Ministry stated.

(With PTI inputs)

Read all the Latest Business News here