Sensex crashes over 2,400 points amid coronavirus scare; Nifty below 10,350

NEW DELHI: Equity indices continued to bleed on Monday with the benchmark BSE sensex crashing nearly 1,950 points as the deadly coronavirus continued to spread, raising fears of a global economic slowdown.

Sensex plunged 1,942 points or 5.17 per cent to close at 35,635, marking the highest-ever single day fall in terms of points. The BSE index slipped 2,400 points to hit a low of 35,109 during the day. The previous steep fall — in absolute terms — was recorded when sensex had plunged 1,624 points to close at 25,741 on August 24, 2015 to be followed by the 1,448-point dive which was recorded on February 28 this year.

The carnage in the equity market wiped out investor wealth worth Rs 6,88,523.1 crore, taking the total m-cap to Rs 1,37,42,701.31 crore on the BSE. The m-cap of BSE-listed companies stood at Rs 1,44,31,224.41 crore at the end of trading on Friday.

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The broader NSE Nifty also plunged sharply and plummeted 538 points or 4.90 per cent to settle at 10,451.

Major laggards in the BSE pack include ONGC, Reliance Industries, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, TCS and State Bank of India (SBI) with their stocks falling as much as 16.55 per cent.

Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd fell 12.35 per cent witnessing worst percentage fall since October 2012 on th