Sensex Plunges 660 Points On Spike In Coronavirus Cases

The Sensex and the Nifty plunged in trade today, as rising Covid-19 cases, came back to haunt the markets.

On Monday, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that "too many countries are headed in the wrong direction."

The US is seeing record number of Covid-19 cases everyday, while India too has witnessed 1,00,000 cases in the last 4-days. Some states and cities in the US are re-inforcing a lockdown, which could delay economic recovery.

Indian markets joined Asian and global peers lower, with the Nifty ending the day lower by 195 points, while the Sensex fell 660 points in trade to end marginally above the 36,000 points mark.

Banking and auto stocks led the declines in trade today, with four of the top five losers from the Nifty being from this space. IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Zee Entertainment, Maruti and Eicher Motors were the top losers from the Nifty.

Reliance Industries, which earlier this week hit new record highs, gave-up gains. The stock ended lower by 1 per cent ahead of its AGM on Wednesday.

Almost 47 of the 50 Nifty stocks declined, with the Bank Nifty closing lower by a whopping 3.5 per cent.