Sensex crashes by 1,708 points as virus surge threatens recovery

Equity benchmark indices plummeted by 3.5 per cent on Monday as the country recorded a massive surge of 1.69 lakh COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours.

Investors worried about the economic fallout of fresh restrictions announced by several state governments.

Market analysts said a complete lockdown will derail the pace of nascent economic recovery.

The panic selling on Black Monday reportedly led to investor wealth tumbling by nearly Rs 8 lakh crore on BSE Ltd.

The BSE SandP Sensex closed 1,708 points or 3.44 per cent lower at 47,883 while the Nifty 50 tumbled by 524 points or 3.53 per cent to 14,311.

All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the red with Nifty PSU bank down by 9.2 per cent, private bank by 5.2 per cent, realty by 7.5 per cent, metal by 6 per cent and auto by 5.1 per cent.