Trade halted as Sensex, Nifty hit 10% lower circuit

Mumbai, March 23 (IANS) Trade halted in the Indian stock markets for 45 minutes on Monday, as both BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange hit the 10 per cent lower circuit.Around 9.58 a.m., Sensex fell 2,991.85 points or 10 per cent to 26,924.11. It had opened at 27,608.80 and has so far touched a high of 27,900.83.The Nifty was at 7,903, lower by 842.45 points or 9.63 per cent from its previous close.The selloff was on the back of the coronavirus crisis as several cities and states in India have been put under lockdown.Asian stock exchange too traded in the red.So far, over 380 confirmed cases of the disease have been reported in India and seven people in the country have lost their lives so far.
--IANS rrb/rs/