The Indian equity benchmarks suffered their worst single-day drop since April 12 on Friday on weak global cues after investor sentiment was dented by detection of a new and possibly vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant. The Sensex fell as much as 1,801 points or 3 per cent and Nifty 50 index briefly dropped below its important psychological level of 17,000 to hit an intraday low of 16,985. Both the benchmarks fell to their lowest level in three month
The Sensex fell 1,688 points or 2.87 per cent to close at 57,107 and Nifty 50 index dropped 510 points or 2.9 per cent to end at 17,026.
Global stocks tumbled on Friday and oil fell below $80 a barrel after news of a possibly vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant sent investors scurrying to the safety of bonds, the yen and the Swiss franc.
European stocks plunged 2.7 per cent, on track for their worst day since September 2020, with travel and leisure stocks particularly badly hit.
