Monday Mayhem: Stocks bleed on bourses

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex dived 812 points, while the Nifty closed below the 11,300 mark on Monday, in tandem with a global selloff after a resurgence of coronavirus cases in Europe stoked fears of another round of lockdowns.

Denmark, Greece and Spain have imposed fresh restrictions on activities to tackle a surge in Covid-19 infections. Britain too is considering a second nation-wide lockdown, prompting investors in Europe to offload travel, consumption and banking stocks.

Falling for the third straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex index ended 811.68 points or 2.09 per cent lower at 38,034.14. Similarly, the NSE Nifty tumbled 254.40 points or 2.21 per cent to finish at 11,250.55.

IndusInd Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, tanking 8.67 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, M&M, Maruti, Axis Bank and Bajaj Finance. Only three index components ended in the green -- Kotak Bank, Infosys and TCS, rising up to 0.86 per cent. The market capitalisation of all BSE-listed companies fell to Rs 1,54,76,979.16 crore, wiping off Rs 4.23 lakh crore of investor wealth.

"Indian benchmark indices succumbed to profit booking in the second half of the trading day and ended more than two per cent down. It was in sync with global cues which turned negative following a surge in infections in various countries including in Europe. Additional restrictions were being considered in Europe following an increase in infections.

With high valuations and worries that earnings may not justify such valuations anytime soon, markets may trade uncertain for the time being. Stay cautious," said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services. All sectoral indices ended in the red, with BSE telecom, realty, metal, auto, healthcare and basic materials cracking up to 5.77 per cent.

Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices crashed as much as 3.61 per cent. In rest of Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul ended significantly lower. Stock exchanges in Europe witnessed heavy selloff in opening trade, declining up to three per cent.