Market extends fall as trading resumes, Sensex sinks 3,186 pts

Mumbai, Mar 23 () Domestic stock trading on Monday resumed after a 45-minute halt, with equity benchmark Sensex plummeting further to 3,186 points and the broader Nifty sinking below 7,900 level.

Stock exchanges paused trading for 45 minutes after Sensex plunged 10 per cent, hitting its lower circuit limit, within the first hour of opening of the session.

As an automatic mechanism to curb freefall in the market, trading is halted in the market for 45 minutes when an exchange plunges 10 per cent before 1 pm.

Continuing its downward spiral, domestic BSE Sensex was trading 3,185.84 points, down 10.65 per cent at 26,730.12. It hit an intra-day low of 26,645.83.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty cracked 923.95 points, or 10.56 per cent, to 7,821.50 after resumption of trade.

Axis Bank was the top loser on Sensex, cracking up to 21 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement and Kotak Bank. ANSANS