Sensex nosedives over 1,400 points in early trade; Nifty tests 14,400

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex plummeted over 1,400 points in early trade on Monday, tracking losses in index-heavyweights HDFC twins, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries as spiking COVID-19 cases in the country spooked investors amid negative cues from global markets.

The 30-share BSE index was trading 1,427 points or 2.88 per cent lower at 48,164.32.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty plunged 431.90 points or 2.91 per cent to 14,402.95.

IndusInd Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, tanking around 8 per cent, followed by SBI, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Auto, Titan, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv and Maruti.

On the other hand, Infosys was the sole gainer.

In the previous session, Sensex had settled 154.89 points or 0.31 per cent lower at 49,591.32, and Nifty slipped 38.95 points or 0.26 per cent to 14,834.85.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 653.51 crore on Friday, according to provisional exchange data.

"Since the second wave of the pandemic is turning out worse than expected, there is profound uncertainty about its impact on the economy and markets,? said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

The situation is the worst in economically significant Maharashtra. This can impact the market's assumption of around 11 per cent GDP growth and above 30 per cent earnings growth, he added.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo were in the red in mid-session deals, while Seoul was trading with mild gains.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.05 per cent higher at USD 62.98 per barrel.