In commodity markets, US crude futures sank in early trade on worries about oil oversupply, even as some US states start to ease coronavirus pandemic restrictions.

The NSE Nifty 50 index was down 4.25% at 9,448.15, while the S&P BSE Sensex was 4.34% lower at 32,260.30.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday there was "a significant amount of evidence" that the virus emerged from a Chinese laboratory.

With new orders and output shrinking at the steepest pace since at least early 2005 factories cut jobs at the fastest rate in the survey's history, signaling a high chance of recession.

While ITC had so far not taken any action against workers, the company notices said "absence without leave" would lead to salary cuts and "disciplinary action", without elaborating.

Investors, however, remained worried about brewing Sino-US tensions after President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on China for its handling of the outbreak.

With millions of tourists canceling plans for vacations, work trips and family visits, Airbnb earlier this year said it was allocating $250 million to help offset losses incurred by hosts.

The government hiked excise duty on petrol by Rs 10 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 13 a litre to mop up gains arising from international oil prices falling to a two-decade low.

The grim result for the industry, the engine of economic growth and jobs, underlined the pandemic's sweeping impact across India as authorities extended a nationwide lockdown.

India's April gasoil exports closed at a four-month high of 2.73 million tonnes, compared with 2.53 million tonnes in March, according to Refinitiv oil research assessments.

While prices have risen sharply since late April as some countries have started easing lockdowns put in place to combat the worst pandemic in a century, oil continues to be pumped into storage, leaving a massive mismatch between demand and supply.

Indian stocks slid on Thursday, with declines led by banks and Hindustan Unilever, as coronavirus cases in the country crossed 50,000 despite a strict weeks-long lockdown.

The company also had to reduce production due to reduced demand.

ONGC was the top loser in the Sensex pack, slumping over 4 per cent, followed by NTPC, Kotak Bank, Titan, Bharti Airtel and PowerGrid.

Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi had earlier written to state chief ministers asking them not to import dry-fuel and take the domestic supply of fuel from Coal India Ltd.

Despite crude prices trading at a two decades low, the government had earlier this week hiked excise duty on petrol by Rs 10 a litre and on diesel by Rs 13 a litre to mop up nearly Rs 1.6 lakh crore in additional revenue this fiscal.

Many MSMEs and corporates have also availed the three-month moratorium offered by banks as per the Reserve Bank of India

Japanese brokerage Nomura warned of a likely downgrade of the sovereign by global ratings agencies while American brokerage Goldman Sachs (GS) said RBI will cut rates by another 1 percentage point to arrest the economic slide.

The next sumo 'basho' or tournament had been scheduled to begin on May 24, after organisers delayed the event by two weeks over the pandemic.

A statement said 'appropriate testing measures' would be put in place to protect the health of players, production crew and others on site.

BWF chief Thomas Lund said the restrictions on international travel due to coronavirus has complicated the picture for badminton to resume.

Mary Wilson, a multiple sclerosis sufferer, hoped to qualify for Tokyo Paralympics but being 56-year-old, she recognises that with Covid-19 roadblock, time may not be on her side.

Kashmiri athletes like Afreen Hyder, Aijaz Hassan, Vilayat Hussain and more have to make do with the restricted spaces and still stay fit during Covid-19 lockdown.

Taylor Fritz said that the tennis authorities are looking to stage the US Open but he was unsure if they will be able to do that.

Money though the Player Relief Programme, run by ATP, WTA, Grand Slam organisers and ITF, will be divided equally among men and women.

PV Sindhu said that senior Indian players with international experience can coach and help youngsters during the coronavirus lockdown.

The Player Relief Programme will support those 'who are facing unprecedented challenges due to the global impact of Covid-19'.

Under New Zealand's four-tier alert system, social distancing protocols are enforced less stringently under level two, allowing contact sports including the national game of rugby union.

French Tennis Federation announced that all ticket holders for the French Open will be refunded.

Testing could allow some teams to feel more secure about safety concerns at facilities and encourage more players to participate.

The Tokyo Olympics was postponed for a year to 2021 in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.

Bob Chapek, Disney’s chief executive, said Disney would reopen the Shanghai park with a reduced number of visitors. Reopening of Disney’s other parks in Asia, the United States, and France hasn't been announced yet.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, cinema-owners have to think seriously about how their operations might need to change, at least in the short to medium term.

Ariana Grande shared a stylishly lit photo of herself in the studio, which also revealed her newest tattoo.

Official Twitter of State of Israel responded to Varun Dhawan's tweet on coronavirus antidote with his 'ABCD 2' dialogue.

Madonna says she caught the novel coronavirus in France towards the end of her famous tour Madam Xtour, adding that she is currently not sick.

This Partner Support Fund for SMBs in logistics will be available to Delivery Service Partners (DSP) and select Transportation partners in India.

The social networking giant also said it counts 2.99 billion monthly users across its family of apps, compared to 2.89 billion in the previous quarter.

Both Apple and Samsung will retain their first and third spots respectively but they are also expected to lose market shares as well.

Google also blocked and removed coronavirus-related marketing pitches in recent months for policy violations including price-gouging and misleading claims.

Services such as Apple Music, App Store, iCloud, Apple Arcade and Apple TV+ are raking in record revenues for the company. At the same time, products such as the AirPods, HomePod and accessories for the Apple Watch and the iPad Pro, to name a few, are also doing well.

Intel is pushing the boundaries once again with its new 10th-gen Comet Lake processor range for consumer desktops.

One of the websites used to schedule appointments showed there were no slots available for people not showing any symptoms or those who are not "front-line workers".

Since the lockdown, smartphone manufacturing units are closed, retail shops are shut and online sellers are busy delivering groceries and other essential items.

The leading industry experts said that many of the patterns and trends that have emerged during the pandemic situation are going to stay and the telecom sector needs to get prepared for that.

Experts fear that while there will be a proliferation of information technology tools and gadgets, post-COVID-19, but internet and broadband will remain an issue in India.

In April, players spent over 3.2 billion hours in-game which is also a record.

The app will ask people about their symptoms and offer guidance on whether they may have COVID-19, the potentially lethal illness caused by the coronavirus.