Indian stocks crash over 2 percent over Omicron fears

New Delhi, Dec 20 (EFE).- The Sensex, an index that lists the 30 companies with the largest market cap in the Indian stock market, on Monday dropped by 2.64 percent – in line with other Asian markets – amid concerns over the rise in Covid-19 cases worldwide and the spread of its Omicron variant.

The Sensex had dropped by 1,560.75 points by 12.30 pm, while Nifty 50, which lists tech stocks, dropped 466.55 points or 2.75 percent to 16,512.65.

The multinational carmaker Tata Motors was among the biggest losers with a 5.61 percent share slump along with Bajaj Finance, which dropped 5.72 percent.

The stocks were “affected by the rapidly spreading coronavirus variant in most parts of Europe. Traders worried that fresh round of lockdowns could hurt the economic recovery prospects,” stock trading firm SMC Securities said in a statement.

Uncertainty over the coronavirus was evident in the Indian stock markets on Monday, a day after the Netherlands announced a lockdown, while several other European countries are also considering imposing fresh restrictions.

“Asian stocks tumbled on Monday as the rapid spread of the omicron Covid-19 variant triggers stricter containment measures across the European continent,” SMC said. EFE

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