The stock exchanges on Friday halted trading for 45 minutes as Sensex, Nifty hit lower circuit limits. The trading operation commenced again at 10:30 am.
The NSE Nifty 50 index plunged 10.07 per cent to 8,624.05 in the opening session, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex sunk 9.8 per cent to 29,564.58, with both indexes on course for their worst-ever week.
The plunging of the stock markets to a three-year low, triggered a trading halt for the first time since 2009, as panic over the fast-spreading coronavirus sent world markets crashing amid fears of a global recession.
The rupee slid 0.2 per cent on Friday to a record low of 74.5075 against the dollar.
India reported its first death from the virus late on Thursday, and new cases continued to be on the rise.
The virus, which originated in China, has spread quickly, killing several thousands and forcing Italy into lockdown. Financial markets have taken a severe beating over the last few weeks as the virus disrupted businesses across the globe.
"Fear is controlling markets right now, no one knows what is going to happen. Fear of death is more painful than death itself," said Sumit Pokharna, vice-president, Kotak Securities.
Markets across the globe tanked after US President Donald Trump on Wednesday set curbs on travel from Europe to contain the pandemic, with the European Central Bank's decision to hold back on rate cuts adding to the rout.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe dropped 9.51per cent, while Dow futures were down about 1per cent in Asia trading after suffering its worst crash on Thursday since Black Monday in 1987.
Investors even fled safe-haven assets like gold and bonds to cover their losses.
In Mumbai, conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd was the biggest drag on the indexes, dropping as much as 9.5 per cent to its lowest since July 2018.
HDFC Bank Ltd, India's largest private-sector lender, shed 5.2 per cent, while top IT firm Tata Consultancy Services Ltd plunged 10.4 per cent to a near two-year low.
Aviation stocks Spicejet Ltd and Interglobe Aviation Ltd extended their rout, sinking 10 per cent and 12.8 per cent, respectively, on Friday.
(With inputs from Reuters.)
