There has been a 'V'-shaped recovery in resumption post the second wave of the covid, and business activity is now closing in on the pre-pandemic levels, a report by a Japanese brokerage Nomura said on Monday.

 The Nomura India Business Resumption Index accelerated to 96.4 for the week from 94.9 the previous week, while the QuantEco Research's DART, or Daily Activity and Recovery Tracker, index rose to 99.9 from 98.7. Both indices were just a few percentage points shy of the baseline pre-pandemic level of 100. "The first flush of conventional monthly data for June suggests a gradual V-shaped recovery from the lowest point in May," Nomura said in a note.

Economic activity was most hit in May this year due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced nearly all states and Union territories to impose restrictions during the month. However, as restrictions were lifted from June, economic activity began rising. During the week ended Jul 18, Google's workplace and retail and recreation mobility indices rose 2.4 percentage points and 5.1 percentage points, respectively, from previous weeks, while the Apple driving index rose 3.9 percentage points.

Power demand fell 2.8 percent, after rising 1.4 percent in the previous week to pre-pandemic levels. The labour participation rate moderated to 40.4 per cent from 40.6 percent. "The first flush of conventional monthly data for June suggests a gradual 'V'-shaped recovery from the nadir in May," the brokerage said.

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