The equity market opened sharply lower on Monday, tracking other Asian indices, as the rapidly spreading Covid-19 variant Omicron emerged as a new threat to global economic recovery and dampened investors' risk appetite. The BSE Sensex was down 1342 points or 2.35 percent at 55,669.59 while the NSE benchmark Nifty50 index traded 409 points or 2.41 percent lower at 16,575.55 The NSE's sector indexes were all in the red, with banking, auto, and metal stocks leading the way.

47 of the 50 Nifty stocks were in the red today, with Tata Motors leading the way, down 3.57 percent, followed by Tata Steel and JSW Steel, which fell 3.22 percent and 3.15 percent, respectively. Other notable Nifty losers included HDFC Bank, SBI, Grasim, Hindalco, BPCL, Eicher Motors, Ultratech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, and M&M, which each fell more than 2.5 percent. Cipla, PowerGrid Corporation, and Wipro were the Nifty's only three gainers, rising between 0.10 percent and 2.65 percent.

Market losses added to the benchmark Sensex's 889.40-point drop on Friday. The 30-share index finished 1.54 percent lower at 57,011.74, while the Nifty finished 263.20 points or 1.53 percent lower at 16,985.20. Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) were net sellers of Rs 2,070 crore in the cash segment on Friday, while they bought shares worth Rs 6,236 crore in the futures and options segment. Domestic institutional investors paid cash for shares worth Rs 1,478.52 crore.

Koo App

At 9.25 a.m., Sensex traded at 56,015 points, down 1.7%. It opened at 56,517 points from the previous close of 57,011 points. #Nifty50 opened at 16,824 points from the previous close of 16,985 points. It traded at 16,697 points, down 1.7 % during early-morning trade session.

View attached media content

- IANS (@IANS) 20 Dec 2021

NSE, BSE put out guidelines on technical glitches for members

know what is the price of petrol and diesel in your city today

Rupee recovers some of its earlier losses to close at 76.06