Trading halted for 45 minutes as Sensex cracks 10% to hit lower circuit amid COVID-19 coronavirus fears

Trading has been stopped for 45 minutes after Indian benchmark indice BSE Sensex plunged 10% to touch the lower circuit.

Sensex opened in deep red on Monday (March 23), falling as much as 2,700 points due to coronavirus-led lockdowns across the world.

After losing over 2,718 points, the BSE was trading 2,430.57 points or 8.12 per cent lower at 27,485.39 when the trading was halted. The NSE Nifty was trading 682.35 points, or 7.80 per cent, down at 8,063.10.

All Sensex components were in loss with Bajaj Finance crashing 14 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, Maruti and M&M.

Benchmark indices traded weakly in the pre-opeing session with the Sensex losing 2,372.42 points or 7.93% at 27543.54, and the Nifty plunging 792.35 points or 9.06% at 7953.10.

The Indian rupee opened at record low level at 75.69 on Monday after closing at 75.19 on Friday (March 20).

Sources said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to hold a meeting with all industry bodies on Monday to review the state of economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. PM Modi is scheduled to preside the meet via video conferencing at 4 pm.

On Friday(March 20), the benchmark indices ended higher after breaking the four-days losing streak. The  Sensex was up 1,627.73 points or 5.75% at 29915.96, while the broader Nifty was also up 482 points or 5.83% at 8745.45. Major gainer stocks on the Nifty were Bharti Infratel, GAIL, ONGC, and UltraTech Cement, while Yes Bank, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Adani Ports were top losers.