Domestic stock markets suffered big losses in early trade on Thursday following a gap-down opening, in tandem with the global peers' continuing struggle to find their footing against the fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic.

The S&P BSE Sensex index dropped as much as 2,155.05 points to hit 26,714.46 on the downside shortly after starting the day down 1,096.15 points at 27,773.36, and the broader NSE Nifty 50 - which started the session at 8,063.30 - plummeted to 7,832.55, down 636.25 points from its previous close, battered by a selloff across sectors before trimming some losses.

Analysts say domestic fundamentals have taken a back seat, with several major markets around the globe having entered a bear phase thanks to the coronavirus outbreak.