Equity benchmark Sensex plummeted 883 points on Monday following a massive across-the-board selloff as mounting COVID-19 cases spooked domestic investors.
After crashing over 1,469 points in early trade, the 30-share BSE index pared some initial losses but still ended 882.61 points or 1.81 per cent lower at 47,949.42.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty tanked 258.40 points or 1.77 per cent to 14,359.45.
PowerGrid was the top loser in the Sensex pack, slumping over 4 per cent, followed by ONGC, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Bank, L&T, Asian Paints and Bajaj Auto.
On the other hand, Dr Reddy’s and Infosys were the only gainers.
"Domestic equities, which were looking resilient for last couple of days, fell sharply on sharp spike in COVID-19 cases across the country and enhanced economic restrictions imposed by several states. Announcements of wider mobility restriction by Rajasthan and Delhi governments dented investors’ sentiments," said Binod Modi, Head Strategy at Reliance Securities.
Barring pharma and IT, which remained resilient, all key sectoral indices witnessed sharp correction. Financials and automobiles witnessed steeper correction. Notably, volatility index soared by over 11 per cent, which does not augur well. Investors' wealth got eroded by over Rs 3 trillion today, he added.