The Indian equity benchmarks were trading lower on Monday mirroring losses in other Asian markets. The Sensex fell as much as 340 points and Nifty 50 index dropped below its important psychological level of 17,100. Asian shares and oil prices both slid on Monday as coronavirus lockdown in Shanghai looked set to hit global activity, while the yen extended its stomach-churning descent as the Bank of Japan acted to keep local yields near zero. Chinese blue chips shed 0.8 per cent. Japan's Nikkei lost 0.4 per cent, but is still almost 6 per cent firmer for the month as a sinking yen promised to boost exporter earnings.