MARKET WRAP: Sensex tanks 812 pts amid weak global cues; India VIX up 13%

The domestic benchmark indices witnessed across-the-board sell-off on Monday and ended over 2 per cent lower amid weak global cues. Investor sentiment also took a hit after the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) reported on top-secret Suspicious Activity Reports or SARs, worth more than $2 trillion globally. In case of India, the FinCEN files so far have established sender-receiver connections for 406 transactions involving all major banks, including the country's largest, State Bank of India. READ MORE

The S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 812 points, or 2.09 per cent to settle at 38,034 levels. Of 30 constituents, 27 declined and just 3 advanced. IndusInd Bank (down 8.7 per cent) ended as the biggest loser on the index. 

On the NSE, the benchmark Nifty50 ended at 11,251, down 254 points, or over 2 per cent. India VIX -- markets' volatility index -- jumped 13 per cent to 22.6 levels.

The sell-off in broader market was more brutal. The S&P BSE MidCap index slipped 516 points, or nearly 3.5 per cent to end at 14,532 while the S&P BSE SmallCap index was down over 3.6 per cent to 14,747 levels.

All the sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the red. Nifty Metal cracked over 5.5 per cent to 2,232 levels while Nifty Realty index fell 6 per cent to 213 points. Nifty Bank declined over 3.3 per cent to 21,290 levels. 

Global markets

Asian shares slipped on Monday on fears the global economy may sputter for a while due to a resurgence of coronavirus infections in Europe while fading hopes for US fiscal stimulus hopes also weighed. In Europe, shares fell to two-week lows. S&P 500 e-minis declined 0.6 per cent, also pointing to a weak start for Wall Street on Monday. Most major Asian indexes were in the red and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.6 per cent weaker at 565.75 levels.

In commodities, oil prices fell on the potential return of output from Libya as rising coronavirus cases also added to worries about global demand, although a tropical storm heading for the US Gulf of Mexico limited losses.

(With inputs from Reuters)