Sensex cracks 1,407 pts as Covid-19 fears resurface; Nifty holds 13,300

InterGlobe Aviation and SpiceJet sunk up to 10 per cent on the BSE after India suspended flights from the UK till December 31

Investors dumped domestic equities on Monday as profit booking gripped the markets. Additionally, panic selling, owing to the global rout seen in the Asian and European stocks, fretted investors. In the intra-day trade, the S&P BSE Sensex breached below the 45,000-mark and sunk 2,037 points to hit a low of 44,923 level. Nifty, on the other hand, tanked over 600 points to hit a low of 13,131-mark.

From the day's high, the Sensex index dropped 2,133 points and logged it's sharpest intra-day fall since April 2020. The Nifty index, on the other hand, lost 646 points from day's high.

At close, the Sensex settled at 45,554 levels, down 1,407 points or 3 per cent. Meanwhile, the Nifty50 index ended at 13,328 levels, down 432 points or 3.14 per cent. India VIX, the volatility gauge, jumped over 23% in the intra-day deals to hit a high of 23.4 levels. This was the index's biggest jump since July 18.

There were only sellers at the bourses with all the 30 constituents of the Sensex index ending the day in the red. ONGC plunged 9 per cent, while IndusInd Bank and M&M (down 7 per cent each), and SBI (down 6 per cent) ended the day as the top laggards on the Sensex.

Individually, aviation stocks, InterGlobe Aviaition and SpiceJet, sunk up to 10 per cent on the BSE after India suspended flights from the UK till December 31 as the country entered a tougher lockdown to fight a new strain of coronavirus

Sectorally, Nifty PSU Bank index cracked 7 per cent, Nifty Realty index skid 6 per cent, and Nifty Metal index dropped 5 per cent on the NSE.

Global markets

European shares fell 2 per cent on Monday, the dollar strengthened and market volatility surged amid growing unease over the economic impact of a new coronavirus strain in Britain which has seen several European countries shut their borders to the UK.

German shares fell around 2 per cent, while pan-European travel and leisure stocks lost more than 5 per cent.

Meanwhile, Asian shares outside Japan dipped 0.2 per cent. Japan's Nikkei shed 0.4 per cent, off its highest since April 1991.

(With inputs from Reuters)

3:58 PM

MARKET VIEW | S Ranganathan, head of Research at LKP Securities

The new variant of the Novel Coronavirus in the UK spooked markets as we witnessed intense selling in pivotal throughout afternoon trade. While the street was bracing for a correction this week after a sharp up move, the sheer velocity of the fall across broader markets took the bulls by surprise as practically none of the key indices constituents were in the Green today.

3:55 PM

Volatility index, India VIX, spikes nearly 25%

3:51 PM

MARKET STATS

For every one stock that gained, four declined
224 stocks scaled 52-week highs; 49 hit 52-week lows
259 scrips hit upper circuit limits; 505 touch lower circuits
BSE Midcap, Smallcap indices tank over 4% each, underperform benchmark Sensex

3:46 PM

All sectors on NSE end in the red; PSU Bank and Media indices tank over 6% each

3:45 PM

NEWS FLASH :: Rupee posts biggest single session fall against Dollar since Nov 12

currency, fall, growth, forex, Rupees, g-sec, bonds, market

3:43 PM

RIL, private lenders among top Sensex drags today

3:42 PM

Sensex Heatmap | All index stocks end in the red; ONGC worst performer

3:38 PM

CLOSING BELL

>> At close, the Sensex settled at 45,554 levels, down 1,407 points or 3 per cent. Meanwhile, the Nfty50 index ended at 13,281 levels, down 479 points or 3.5 per cent.

3:27 PM

MARKET UPDATE:: RIL, HDFC twins, and ICICI Bank among top contributors to Sensex's fall today

3:19 PM

SpiceJet hits 10% lower circuit

3:16 PM

BREAKING :: INDIA SUSPENDS FLIGHTS FROM UK TILL DEC 31

3:14 PM

InterGlobe Aviation tumbles 9%

3:10 PM

Mid, Smallcap indices slip over 5%; SpiceJet hits 10% lower circuit

Shares of mid-and-smallcap companies were under severe pressure on Monday, with the S&P BSE Midcap and S&P BSE Smallcap indices slipping over 5 per cent as investors booked profits after European markets opened with sharp cuts. At 02:33 pm, the S&P BSE Midcap index and the S&P BSE Smallcap index were down 5.4 per cent each, as compared to 3.3 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex on the back of Covid resurgence in some European countries and concerns over possible lockdown restrictions as a result of the same. READ MORE