Sensex Crashes 871 Points As New Coronavirus Mutant Variant Spooks Investors

Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Infosys, ITC and Axis Bank were among the top drags on the Sensex.

The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes fell sharply on Wednesday as rising Covid-19 cases dampened investor sentiment. The benchmarks opened lower and extended losses in the last hour of trade after the government said it has detected a new "double mutant variant" of the novel coronavirus. The rising cases have raised concerns of renewed lockdowns in the parts of the country and impact on economic recovery, analysts said. The Sensex fell as much as 931 points at the day's lowest level and Nifty 50 index tumbled below its important psychological level of 14,550. The Sensex ended 871 points or 1.74 per cent lower at 49,180 and Nifty 50 index dropped 265 points to close at 14,549. Government detected a new "double mutant variant" of the novel coronavirus, the health ministry said on Wednesday, adding to concern as the government struggles with the highest single-day tally of new infections and deaths this year. Genome sequencing and analysis of samples from Maharashtra state found mutations in the virus that do not match previously catalogued "variants of concern" (VOC), the ministry said in a statement.