Key equity benchmarks were hovering near the day s low in early afternoon trade. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 1,105.25 points or 2.21% at 48,924.58. The Nifty 50 index slumped 308.20 points or 2.07% at 14,559.15.
Barring the Nifty IT index, all the other sectoral indices on the NSE were in the red. Banks and financial shares declined sharply.
Selling was broad based. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 1.61% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index lost 1.50%.
The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 777 shares rose and 1,972 shares fell. A total of 196 shares were unchanged.
Derivatives:
The NSE s India VIX, a gauge of market s expectation of volatility over the near term, spurted 13.93% to 22.7725. The Nifty 29 April 2021 futures were trading at 14,580, at a premium of 20.85 points as compared with the spot at 14,559.15.