Sensex Sinks 1,066 Pts As Europe Battles Second Wave Of Coronavirus

A global sell-off in stocks sparked by worries of a second wave of cornavirus cases in Europe, saw Indian benchmark indices plunging. The Sensex ended the day lower by a staggering 1066 points, while the Nifty closed lower by 290 points at 11,680 points. This was the first time in 11 trading sessions that the Sensex and the Nifty dropped. Hopes of fading stimulus in the US also pushed global markets lower.

The sharp drop in the benchmark indices was triggered by the possibility of a second wave of Coronavirus cases across Europe.

France declared a public health state of emergency, while the U.K. was staring at the possibility of a second national lockdown. Germany on the other hand has introduced new rules in an effort to lower the infection.

It was clearly the IT pack, which led the markets lower. These set of stocks have seen a relentless rally in the last few trading sessions. Among the stocks that lost ground in trade from the pack were HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra, with both the stocks falling more than 4 per cent each. Banking stocks too saw their set of losses with IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India leading the pack, with a drop of more than 3-4 per cent.

Among the few Nifty stocks that managed to remain residential were HeroMoto Corp and NTPC. Coal India, which had fallen to 52-week lows earlier today, managed to hold ground.

The IT index was the worst performing index in trade today.