The benchmark indices settled with losses of around 5 per cent. The Senesx ended the day 1,941.67 points - or 5.17 per cent - lower at 35,634.95, whereas the Nifty settled at 10,451.45, down 538.00 points - or 4.90 per cent - from the previous close. For the 50-scrip index, it was the worst daily decline since August 2015. The broader markets also faced a rout, with the S&P BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices settling 4.73 per cent and 4.20 per cent lower for the day respectively.

ONGC, Vedanta, Reliance Industries, Zee Entertainment, IndusInd Bank and Tata Motors - which ended between 8.14 per cent and 15.99 per cent lower - were the biggest percentage losers in the Nifty basket of 50 shares, as 46 of its components declined. On the other hand, Yes Bank and Bharat Petroleum managed gains of 32.20 per cent and 5.45 per cent respectively.

Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, TCS and HDFC Bank were top drags on Sensex, together accounting for a loss of more than 933.81 points in the index. Reliance Industries alone made up for a fall of 472.36 points.

Analysts who have been tracking coronavirus news over past few weeks say the pandemic is a huge negative in the near term, and further market correction cannot be ruled out for the time being.

Equity markets across Asia sank in a sea of red with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan plummeting 3.0 per cent to a five-month low, Japan's Nikkei falling 4.7 per cent and Australia's commodity-heavy market down 5 per cent.

European indices, including the CAC, DAX and FTSE, opened with cuts ranging from 4-8 per cent each. The US market futures also point to sharp losses, with the Wall Street E-Mini futures plunging 4.6 per cent. Crude oil prices nosedived 31.5 per cent to $31.02 a barrel in their biggest percentage slump since the start of the first Gulf War.

Risk sentiment around the globe soured due to the unabated spread of coronavirus outbreak and a plunge in oil prices. The number of people infected with the coronavirus has topped 107,000 across the world as the outbreak reaches more countries and causes greater economic pain. In India, the number rose to 39, a day after five of a family in Kerala tested positive.

Crude oil fell by the most since 1991 after Saudi Arabia started a price war with Russia by slashing its selling prices and pledging to unleash its pent-up supply onto a market reeling from falling demand because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Investors around the globe are looking at more central banks and authorities to announce measures to shield world economy from the virus. The European Central Bank meets on Thursday and will be under intense pressure to act, but rates there are already deeply negative.