Equity benchmark indices were down by over 5 per cent during early hours on Monday tracking weak global cues after the latest flare-up in US-China tensions.
Besides, rising coronavirus cases in the country and the extension of nationwide lockdown for two more weeks also weighed on the sentiment.
At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was down by 1,698 points or 5.04 per cent at 32,019 while the Nifty 50 edged lower by 494 points or 5.01 per cent at 9,366.
Except for Nifty pharma, all sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the red with Nifty metal down by 7.5 per cent, private bank by 6.9 per cent and auto by 6.1 per cent.
Among stocks, Tata Motors was the top loser after skidding by 12.33 per cent to Rs 81.75 per share. Hindalco saw a dip of 10.6 per cent to Rs 116.35 per share. Vedanta lost by 10 per cent, JSW Steel by 8.5 per cent and Tata Steel by 8.2 per cent.
Private lenders ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank lost by 9.2 per cent and 8.6 per cent respectively. The other prominent losers were Bajaj Finance by 8.8 per cent and Ad Ports by 7.5 per cent.
However, Pharma majors Cipla, Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy's traded with a positive bias.
Meanwhile, Asian stock markets struggled for traction and oil prices fell after a US-China spat over the origin of coronavirus.
South Korea's KOSPI fell and Hong Kong's Hang Seng returned from a two-session holiday with a 3.5 per cent drop.
( With inputs from ANI )