Sensex falls nearly 800 points; Nifty near 14,300; auto bleeds

Indian indices were trading sharply lower on Thursday as selling continued mainly dragged by banks, auto and IT stocks.

Rising Covid-19 cases across the country have sparked fears of fresh lockdowns which may impact the economic recovery, analysts said.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 800 points, or 1.5 per cent, at 48,380 levels and the Nifty50 index gave up the 14,350-mark. IndusInd Bank fell 2 per cent and was the top Sensex laggard, followed by Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finance, and Maruti Suzuki (all down over 1%).

Meanwhile, Asian equities were also lower as a selloff in Chinese technology shares due to concerns they will be de-listed from U.S. bourses.

(With inputs from agencies)