Equities plunged even lower on Monday afternoon after a 45-minute halt caused after the S&P BSE Sensex hit 10% lower circuit level.

Although markets saw an across-the-board selling, banking and auto stocks were the worst hit.

At 1 pm, BSE Sensex was down by 3,339 points to 26,577. Nifty meanwhile edged lower by 917 points to 7,829.

The coronavirus epidemic has caused edged economies globally to dire straits.