Bull bites dust as BSE falls 1,708 pts, NSE below 14,350

Mumbai: The Sensex plummeted 1,708 points while the Nifty crashed below the 14,350-level on Monday as investors pressed the panic button amid the massive second wave of COVID-19 infections across the country.

The second wave is turning out to be much worse than expected, and participants are now reassessing their recovery forecasts amid increasing localised lockdowns, traders said.

Investors' wealth slumped over Rs 8.77 lakh crore on Monday as concerns over surging COVID-19 cases in the country roiled the equity market.

Posting its biggest fall since February 26, the 30-share BSE Sensex sank 1,707.94 points or 3.44 per cent to end at 47,883.38.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty plunged 524.05 points or 3.53 per cent to finish at 14,310.80.

Barring Dr Reddy's, which climbed 4.83 per cent, all Sensex stocks closed in the red.

IndusInd Bank was the top loser, tanking 8.60 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, SBI, ONGC, Titan, M&M, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Bajaj Finserv.

Investors lost Rs 8.77 lakh crore in the session, with the market capitalisation of BSE-listed stocks declining to Rs 200.85 lakh crore.

India recorded yet another peak in daily COVID-19 cases with 1,68,912 new cases, the highest single-day rise since the pandemic began, taking the total tally to 1,35,27,717, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

All sectoral indices ended with heavy losses, with BSE realty tanking 7.70 per cent, followed by industrials, metal, auto, power, finance and bankex.

Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices nosedived up to 5.32 per cent.