Sensex slumps over 400 pts; Nifty drops below 9,200

Equity benchmark Sensex dropped over 400 points in the opening session on Tuesday dragged by losses in index-heavyweights HDFC twins, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank amid weak cues from global markets.

After touching a low of 31,097.50, the 30-share index was trading 400.20 points or 1.27 per cent lower at 31,161.02. Similarly, NSE Nifty declined 103.95 points, or 1.13 per cent, to 9,135.25.

Asian Paints was the top loser in the Sensex pack, falling over 3 per cent, followed by HDFC duo, Maruti, ONGC, HUL, ICICI Bank and Kotak Bank. On the other hand, UltraTech Cement, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, ITC and NTPC were trading higher.

In the previous session, the BSE barometer settled 81.48 points or 0.26 per cent lower at 31,561.22, and the broader Nifty fell 12.30 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 9,239.20.

Foreign portfolio investors purchased equities worth Rs 534.87 crore in the capital market on Monday, provisional exchange data showed. According to traders, weak cues from global markets on fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections spooked investors across Asia.

After weeks of no new cases, Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the outbreak first emerged, reported six new infections in two days and South Korea announced its biggest spike in new cases in more than a month.

Following the reports, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading with significant losses. On Wall Street, stock exchanges settled on a positive note. International oil benchmark Brent crude futures were trading 0.24 per cent higher at USD 29.70 per barrel.

In India, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 2,293 and the number of cases climbed to 70,756 on Tuesday, according to the health ministry. Globally, the number of cases linked to the disease has crossed 41.77 lakh and the death toll has topped 2.86 lakh.