Equity benchmark indices nosedived on Monday as a strong second wave of Covid-19 infections cast a shadow over economic growth and corporate earnings outlook.
Concerns were also visible among foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) who have reportedly pulled out a net Rs 4,615 crore from Indian markets this month.
With the national and financial capitals besides several regions in states under lockdown, investors worried over leading brokerages downgrading GDP growth projections for the current fiscal year.
The BSE S&P Sensex closed 883 points or 1.81 per cent lower at 47,949 while the Nifty 50 dipped by 258 points or 1.77 per cent to 14,359.
Except for Nifty pharma, all sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the red zone with Nifty PSU bank crashing by 4.3 per cent, private bank by 2.6 per cent, financial service by 2.3 per cent, realty by 4 per cent and auto by 2.8 per cent.
Among stocks, Punjab National Bank dipped by 4.8 per cent to close at Rs 33.15 per share while State Bank of India was down by 2.5 per cent to Rs 331.25.
Ad Ports lost by 4.8 per cent to close at Rs 719 per share. Power Grid Corporation cracked by 4.1 per cent, ONGC by 3.9 per cent, Hero MotoCorp by 3.6 per cent and L&T by 3.4 per cent.
Banking and financials were also hit with IndusInd Bank down by 3.6 per cent, Kotak Mahindra Bank by 3.5 per cent, Bajaj Finserv by 3.4 per cent.
However, pharma and IT majors made some gains with Dr Reddy's up by 2.3 per cent and Cipla by 1.2 per cent. Infosys was up by 0.7 per cent and Wipro by 0.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, Asian shares hovered near one-and-a-half week highs helped by expectations monetary policy will remain accommodative the world over. Covid-19 vaccine rollouts also helped eased fears of another dangerous wave of coronavirus infections.
South Korea's Kospi added 0.4 per cent ahead of tech and auto earnings but Japan's Nikkei was flat. Hong Kong stocks ended 0.47 per cent higher as healthcare, industrial firms rebounded.
( With inputs from ANI )
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