Equities on Monday posted their worst performance in over a month with the Sensex nosediving 1708 points as a spike in Covid-19 cases in the country and the possibility of more restrictions or lockdowns led to apprehensions about its impact on the economic recovery.

The benchmark index fell below the 48000-mark, causing investors to lose Rs 8.77 lakh crore in Monday’s session. Market experts are warning that equities are likely to remain under pressure and there could be more corrections as there could be bad news on the virus front.

They, however, add that investors should also look at nibbling quality stocks in such times as the progress in vaccine rollouts and peaking of the number of Covid-19 cases could bring back the rally during the next few weeks.

The fresh worries came after India logged a record 168,912 Covid-19 infections overnight, data from the health ministry showed on Monday.

The country thus overtook Brazil to become the second-most affected nation globally by the coronavirus.

“There is a growing worry that the rising number of Covid-19 cases will affect economic activity, putting speed breakers on the small growth that we saw during the third quarter. Investors are also concerned that more states may follow the Maharashtra route and go for a full lockdown. On the other hand, we have reports of vaccine shortage in various parts of the country,” an analyst from a foreign brokerage said.

The panic was evident since the beginning of the trading session as the 30-share Sensex opened at 48956.65 and hit an intra-day low of 47693.44. It, thereafter, sank 1707.94 points, or 3.44 per cent, to end at 47883.38 — the biggest fall since February 26.

The broader NSE Nifty plunged 524.05 points, or 3.53 per cent, to finish at 14310.80.

Rupee at 75.05

The rupee fell for the sixth straight session to mark its lowest level in nearly nine months at 75.05 against the dollar on Monday.