Markets Resume Trading After Circuit Filter; Sensex Plunges Further

Benchmark indices opened trading after a 45-minute break, following the lower circuit limit breach by the indices. The Sensex plunged even further and was down 3,000 points at 11.00 am.

It was carnage across the markets, as a virtual lockdown of the country amidst a sharp escalation in coronavirus infections, pushed indices lower.

There was no place to hide as it was Monday mayhem, with several bluechip stocks losing as much as 10 per cent in trade. Prominent among these were names like Reliance Industries, which dropped as 9 per cent and HDFC Bank dropped as much as 8 per cent.

Stocks like ICICI Bank, L&T Technology, Adani Ports, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra and Mahibdra dropped to new 52-week lows. BPCL and ONGC were seeing the deepest cuts from the Nifty space, with the only winner being Yes Bank.

Global cues continue to remain extremely weak with the Dow Futures once again pointing to lower openings and cuts of around 5 per cent.

Several stocks like Maruti and Mahindra and Mahindra opened significantly lower, given that several companies have ordered a complete closure of their factories.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei was trading with marginal gains, while most of the other Asian markets saw steep cuts. The benchmark indices in both Australia and South Korea were trading with cuts of around 7-8 per cent.