Mumbai: The BSE Sensex snapped its six-day winning streak and plunged 1,407 points on Monday amid fears of the spread of a new virus strain in the United Kingdom that has led to most of the EU cancelling air travel to that country.
The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 1,406.73 points, or 3%, to close at 45,553.96.
Most global markets retreated amid worsening coronavirus outbreaks.
Markets fell in London, Frankfurt, Paris, and Tokyo but rose in Shanghai.
The resurgence of the virus has dented optimism that anti-viral jabs can swiftly end the pandemic.
While Germany’s DAX plunged 2% to 13,357, the CAC 40 in Paris crashed 2.6% to 5,387.12. In Britain, the FTSE 100 gave up 1.4% to 6,436.30.
The British pound fell 1.8% against the dollar, to $1.3274, down from $1.3522 late Friday.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.2% to 26,714.42.
In Hong Kong the Hang Seng shed 0.7% to 26,306.68. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.1% to 6,669.90.
The Shanghai Composite index, meanwhile, gained 0.8% to 3,420.57.