The key Indian equity indices traded deep in the red on Monday morning with the BSE Sensex dropping around 1,100 points amid resurgent Covid cases across the country and concerns of localised lockdowns.
An across-the-board selloff was led by finance, banking, auto and metal stocks. Around 10 a.m., Sensex was trading at 48,488.66, lower by 1,102.66 points or 2.22 per cent from its previous close of 49,591.32.
At 09:16 am, the Sensex was down 813.07 points or 1.64% at 48,778.25, and the Nifty was down 245.90 points or 1.66% at 14,589. About 386 shares have advanced, 1,181 shares declined, and 76 shares are unchanged. In less than half-an-hour, it recorded an intra-day high of 48,956.65 and a low of 48,112.17 points.
The Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was trading at 14,494.40, lower by 340.45 points or 2.29 per cent from its previous close.
Manish Hathiramani, technical analyst with Deen Dayal Investments said: "The resistance of 14,950-15,000 has worked once again. The market has taken a severe u-turn and has tested the 14,300-14,400 support."
"For the markets to move up, we need to respect this support range and bounce up. 14,264 was the recent low recorded and if we break that, the next expected level is 13,900," he said.
The top losers on the Sensex were IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance and SBI, while the only gainers were Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and Infosys.
