Sensex tanks 807 pts as coronavirus alarm spreads

All Sensex components ended in the red, with Tata Steel cracking 6.39 per cent, followed by ONGC, Maruti, Titan, ICICI Bank, HDFC and Bharti Airtel.

Indian equity benchmark Sensex on Monday plunged about 807 points in line with massive sell-offs in global equities as spike in new coronavirus cases beyond China spooked investors.

The 30-share BSE gauge settled at 40,363.23, dropping 806.89 points or 1.96 per cent.

While, the broader NSE Nifty sank 251.45 points or 2.08 per cent to 11,829.40.

All Sensex components ended in the red, with Tata Steel cracking 6.39 per cent, followed by ONGC, Maruti, Titan, ICICI Bank, HDFC and Bharti Airtel.

In a worrying sign for the global economy, the deadly coronavirus is fast spreading beyond China.

South Korea went on high alert on Sunday following a sharp jump in coronavirus cases, and Italy and Iran took their own drastic containment steps.

Further, the IMF also warned that the deadly epidemic could put an already fragile global economy recovery at risk.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday said the coronavirus epidemic is the country's "largest public health emergency". The death toll from the deadly virus climbed to 2,592 in China on Monday.

Seoul stocks ended in deep red after South Korea reported 161 more coronavirus cases on Monday, taking the overall virus cases to 763 and making it the world's largest total outside China.

Bourses in Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong also closed with significant losses.

Stock exchanges in Europe sank in opening trade with Milan's FTSE MIB plunging over 4 per cent after Italy reported its fourth death from the virus as the number of people contracting the virus continued to mount.

Brent crude oil futures dropped 3.62 per cent to $55.84 per barrel.

Photograph: Shailesh Andrade/Reuters