A negative trend in Asian markets coupled with concerns related to lockdown being extended in India pulled the benchmark indices down on Monday.
The 30-share Sensex lost 469.60 points, or 1.51%, to close at 30,690.02. The Nifty ended the day at 8,993.85, down 118.05 points, or 1.30%.
Incidentally, the India VIX index, after cooling off in the last few sessions, again surged, this time by more than 3% on Monday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Nikkei lost over 2% while Kospi was down by 1.88%. The benchmarks of China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore also ended in the red after countries such as U.S., the U.K., Russia and Spain, among others, reported a significant rise in new COVID-19 cases.
“Indian equity markets plunged today, tracking weak global markets, rising number of cases in India and the fears of lockdown getting extended in the country till the end of the month,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head, retail research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services. “The market will continue to remain volatile with swings on either side as it would track the trend in COVID-19coronavirus cases and the developments around the opening up of economy in a phased manner,” added Mr. Khemka.
Globally, the number of COVID-19coronavirus cases is nearing the 19-lakh mark with the toll pegged at about 1.16 lakh. In india, the number of cases have breached the 9,000-mark.
Meanwhile, investor pessimism was reflected in the negative market breadth as well with over 1,200 stocks in the red even as many side counters rose as the number of gainers was pegged at 1,179.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net sellers at ₹1,244 crore on Monday while their domestic counterparts also sold shares worth almost ₹1,100 crore.
In the Sensex pack, Bajaj Finance was the top loser shedding almost 11%. Stocks such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra and Hero Motocorp all lost over 3% each.