Sensex, Nifty see biggest drop in 7 months; new Covid variant spooks investors

Benchmark indices ended sharply lower on Friday, following the discovery of a new, possibly vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant.

Indian shares sank nearly 3% on Friday as fears that a new, possibly vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant could wreak more economic damage prompted investors to dump equities globally.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index ended down 2.91% at 17,026.45 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex closed 2.87% lower at 57,107.15, both marking their biggest daily drops since April 12.