Sensex tanks 1,011 points as oil crash sparks global sell-off

According to traders, domestic market plunged following selloff in global equities as rout in crude market hit investor sentiment world over.

An employee of a stock broking firm looking at a screen as Sensex goes down. File

Equities traded extremely weak on Tuesday as global markets went in a tailspin after crude contracts went below zero for the first time ever on Monday and U.S. president Donald Trump said that he will suspend immigration to combat coronavirus pandemic.

The 30-share Sensex lost 1,011.29 points or 3.20% to close at 30,636.71. The broader Nifty fell below the psychological 9000-mark to close at 8,981.45, down 280.40 points or 3.03%.

Sensex constituents like ICICI Bank, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, TCS, Infosys and Kotak Mahindra Bank contributed the maximum to the day's losses.

The overall market breadth was also weak with nearly 1,700 stocks in the red as against only 716 gainers.

Elsewhere in Asia, Nikkei lost nearly 2% while Hang Seng was down 2.20% with most other benchmarks also in the red. The overnight Dow Jones lost 2.44%.

Meanwhile oil futures rebounded on Tuesday after falling below zero for the first time in history. The NYMEX WTI crude contracts were trading around $1.48 per barrel.