Over 10 lakh crore of market wealth were lost within 10 minutes of opening as benchmark indices fell in line with global peers' fears of the global recovery due to rising Omicron cases.
In early trade, the market cap of BSE-listed firms fell by Rs 10.47 lakh crore to Rs 253.56 lakh crore. The market cap was Rs 264.03 lakh crore in the previous session.
Sensex plunged 324 points to 16,661 after losing 1,098 points to 55,912 and Nifty plunged to 16,661. All Sensex components were trading in the red.
The rising number of cases of Omicron variant at home kept sentiment nervous in the Indian market.
India reported its 150th case of the new COVID- 19 variant on Sunday December 19, 2021. The country's Omicron count rose to 153 after Maharashtra and Gujarat added ten more infections.
The Indian market lost 1,300 points after Sensex plunged nearly 1,300 points. At 10: 15 am Sensex lost 282 points to 55,729 and Nifty fell 392 points to 16,592.
The market cap of BSE-listed firms fell by 11.31 lakh crore to 252.72 lakh crore.
India VIX increased by 13.52% to 18.55 against the previous close of 16.34, indicating heightened volatility in the Indian market.
Asian stock markets fell after concern about the latest variant of the coronaviruses and tighter Federal Reserve policy.
Australia's S&P ASX 200 was trading 19 points lower at 7,284. Nikkei plunged by 613 points to 27,931 and the Shanghai Composite was trading 31 points lower at 3,601. The Hang Seng index fell 340 points to 22,851.
The S&P 500 ended up 48 points lower at 4,620, the Nasdaq lost 10 points to 15,169 and the Dow Jones fell 532 points to 35,365 on Wall Street.