New Delhi: India’s stock markets plunged sharply in early-morning trading, leading to a trading suspension, and in turn a smart recovery that erased most losses.At its lowest on Friday morning, the 30-share Sensex plunged over 3,000 points or 9.43% to touch 29,687.52. The benchmark Nifty index fell more than 10% within minutes of Friday’s opening bell, hitting the lower circuit and a trading suspension of 45 minutes.The Nifty fell by 966.10 points in early trading to touch a three-year low of 8,624.05. Since the 10% ‘’circuit limit’ was hit within the first hour of the session, trading was suspended for 45 minutes.Analysts say that this is the first time in 12 years that Indian markets have hit the lower circuit. As many as 17 stocks in the Sensex lost more than 10% in the first few minutes of the trading session on Friday.#MarketSlump | #Market hits 10% lower circuit for the first time since 2008#Nifty #Sensex #BlackFriday #CoronavirusPandemic #Covid_19 pic.twitter.com/ydtwW3KBfk— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) March 13, 2020TCS, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, ONGC and State Bank of India among others all lost over 10%. On an overall basis, according to CNBC, more than 1,200 stocks were in the red as against less than 90 gainers.Recovery?From 11 AM onward though, both the Sensex and Nifty staged a smart recovery, after the trading suspension was lifted.As of 1:08 PM, the Sensex was up 1,470.25 points at 34,248.39, while the Nifty was up 438.75 points at 10,028.#SharpRecovery #Sensex gains 3,700 points from intra-day low pic.twitter.com/kdSyL8FWwO— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) March 13, 2020Market commentators speculated whether the Reserve Bank of India had helped in intervening with sentiment, even as regulator SEBI issued a statement saying that it was closely monitoring the situation.Meanwhile, in early trading, the rupee also hit an all time low of 74.50 against the US dollar, before gaining up 40 paise from the day’s low.“I don’t think the markets have over-reacted with the Nifty50 hitting lower circuit today. On the contrary, I think we have not reacted much to the developments. The worst part, according to me, is that when the global markets are melting, our government and regulators were not at all prepared for such a situation,” said Deven Choksey, Managing Director of KR Choksey Investment Managers.“In my view, the rundown on the market today is largely due to the players who are more speculators rather than investors in the global markets. And they have free entry and exit from our markets under the garb of a “free market”. This is a cause of worry.”