Mumbai, Nov 27 (TIWN) A massive foreign fund outflow triggered by the panic among the investors over the new Covid-19 variant found in southern Africa plunged the key equity indices -- S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 -- deep into the red on Friday.

The fall of about 1,687 points in Sensex and 509 points in Nifty50 was triggered by FIIs' selling, which occurred after the 'B.1.1529' strain of Covid-19 was identified in South Africa, and later detected in Botswana and Hong Kong.  The new strain is reported to contain up to 30 identified mutations. It is said to be a more transmissible variant of Covid-19.  Notably, the FIIs sold Rs 5,785.83 crore on the BSE, the NSE and the MSEI in the capital market segment during the day's trade.  And not just in India, but FIIs also sold in Asian and European markets with falls up to 2.5-3 per cent.  "On the domestic front, broad-based sell off was witnessed as investors dumped the Covid-sensitive stocks while focus was shifted towards the pharma sector amid growing concerns over the new variant with higher mutations," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.