Key equity barometers were hovering near the day's low in afternoon trade. The Nifty was trading below 14,350 level. Investors sentiment was dented as COVID-19 cases continued to surge in the country. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slumped 1,654.56 points or 3.34% at 47,936.76. The Nifty 50 index tanked 497.20 points or 3.35% at 14,337.65. Reliance Industries (down 3.86%), HDFC Bank (down 3.96%) and ICICI Bank (down 5.30%) were major drags. The broader market underperformed the benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index lost 5.28%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index skid 4.78%. Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 429 shares rose and 2,435 shares fell. A total of 184 shares were unchanged.