New Covid-19 strain effect:Sensex sinks 1,407 points

At close, the Sensex settled at 45,554 levels, down 1,407 points or 3 percent. Meanwhile, the Nifty50 index ended at 13,328 levels, down 432 points or 3.14 percent. India VIX, the volatility gauge, jumped over 23% in the intra-day deals to hit a high of 23.4 levels. This was the index's biggest jump since July 18.

There were only sellers at the bourses with all the 30 constituents of the Sensex index ending the day in the red. ONGC plunged 9 per cent, while IndusInd Bank and M&M (down 7 per cent each), and SBI (down 6 per cent) ended the day as the top laggards on the Sensex.

Individually, aviation stocks, InterGlobe Aviaition and SpiceJet, sunk up to 10 per cent on the BSE after India suspended flights from the UK till December 31 as the country entered a tougher lockdown to fight a new strain of coronavirus

Sectorally, Nifty PSU Bank index cracked 7 per cent, Nifty Realty index skid 6 per cent, and Nifty Metal index dropped 5 per cent on the NSE.

According to experts the new Covid-19 strain is a big concern for the markets now. It has already led to shutdowns across major cities in the UK / Europe and has aggravated the risk of re-lockdown at a time when most business hubs were opening up. If the market comes down another 3-4 per cent from here, there could be mayhem and more panic selling may happen,experts opinied.