₹5.8 Lakh Cr Lost As Bears Maul Shares

Markets crash as jittery investors dump shares

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The stock markets crashed on Monday amid frantic selling of stocks triggered by rising tensions between the United States and China dashing hopes of a pick up in global economic activity and the government extending by two weeks the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus.

The BSE benchmark Sensex plunged by 5.94 per cent or 2002.27 points to settle at 31,715.35. This is the biggest single-day fall in over a month, wiping out a whopping Rs 5.8 lakh crore of investors’ wealth.

Likewise, the broader 50share NSE Nifty suffered a hefty loss of 566.40 points, or 5.74 per cent, to settle at 9,293.50.

The volatility index, which reflects the uncertainty and risk perception in the market, surged over 28 per cent to 43.74 levels.

ICICI Bank was the biggest laggard in the Sensex pack, tumbling nearly 11 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, HDFC and IndusInd Bank. Bharti Airtel and Sun Pharma were the only gainers in the BSE index.