Sensex sheds 520 pts, Nifty ends 150 pts lower

China has been reporting higher Covid cases which has made investors nervous about China extending its Zero Covid strategy. All the Asian markets ended in red and Europe was trading lower in the morning session.

Indices tumble on Monday with Sensex and Nifty shedding around 500 and 150 points, respectively.

Indian equity markets were not immune to the depressed mood of the global stock markets and shed 0.8% on Monday. 

Sensex ended 518 points down at 61,144 and Nifty closed at 18,160, a drop of 150 points.

Most of the sectorial indices fell on Monday with PSU Bank remaining the only bright spot which added more than a per cent.

IT, Realty, Metal, Auto and Finacial Service indices were among the hardest hits in today's session.

Among stocks, Adani Ports, Tech Mahindra, Hero MotoCorps and Hindalco shed the most today, while BPCL gained around 2% followed by Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank which gained more than a per cent each.

Stocks fell globally overall as investors decided to wait and gauge the mood of central bankers with regard to future rate hikes and concerns that China may tighten Covid curbs after a string of reported deaths.

Japan's stock markets remained flat and ended marginally higher on Monday.

Rising COVID-19 cases in China weighed on sentiment in Asia and traders awaited more clarity on the outlook for interest rates. The Nikkei closed 0.2% higher.

China stocks closed down for a fourth straight session on Monday as investors' hopes of an early easing in strict pandemic curbs were dashed.

However, some surge in infections lifted some healthcare shares.

The blue-chip CSI 300 Index lost 0.9% at the close, and the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.4%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 1.9%, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index declined 2%.

European shares slipped with economically sensitive sectors like miners and industrials leading the losses to worries about the impact of surging COVID-19 cases in China.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down in the morning session.