Sensex plunges 1628 pts, Nifty below 21,600 as private banks falter; VIX crosses 15 mark

The key equity benchmarks tanked on Wednesday, declining for the second day in a row. The selloff was mainly due to a significant drop in private banking stocks, especially HDFC Bank, with its share price falling by over 8% after the release of its Q3 earnings. As a result, the Nifty50 closed below the 21,600 level. Additionally, adverse signals from the global market also triggered profit selling.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 1,628.01 points or 2.23% to 71,500.76. The Nifty 50 index lost 460.35 points or 2.09% to 21,571.95.

HDFC Bank (down 8.46%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 3.66%), Axis Bank (down 3.18%) and ICICI Bank (down 2.85%) were major drags.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 1.09% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.90%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1224 shares rose and 2602 shares fell. A total of 74 shares were unchanged.

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, surged 11.10% to 15.08.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper added 0.21% to 7.161 as compared with previous close 7.146.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.1325, compared with its close of 82.1200 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2024 settlement declined 0.10% to Rs 61,953.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.03% to 103.39.

The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.25% to 4.057.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2024 settlement lost $1.46 or 1.86% to $76.83 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones index futures were down 165 points, indicating a weak opening in the US stocks today.

Markets in Europe and Asia tumbled on Wednesday, on increased uncertainty over the likelihood of early interest rate cuts as well as disappointing Chinese growth data.

China�s economy grew by 5.2% in the October to December period last year, China�s National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. GDP climbed 5.2% for the whole of 2023.

U.S. markets dropped on Tuesday as bond yields ticked higher and Wall Street pored through the latest batch of fourth-quarter earnings. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller indicated in a speech that the central bank could ease monetary policy slower than anticipated.

Stocks in Spotlight:

HDFC Bank slumped 8.46% and its US-listed ADRs tumbled 6.7% overnight after the private lender reported December quarter earnings post Indian markets closing on Tuesday.

India`s largest private bank�s net profit increased 33.55% to Rs 16,372.54 crore on 59.58% jump in total income to Rs 81,719.65 crore in Q3 FY24 over Q3 FY23. Sequentially, the lender�s net profit rose 2.48% and total income grew by 4.23%.

Asian Paints fell 1.67%. The paint major`s consolidated net profit jumped 34.96% to Rs 1,447.72 crore in Q3 FY24 as against Rs 1,072.67 crore recorded in Q3 FY23. Net sales grew by 5.43% year on year to Rs 9,074.94 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2023.

Ganesh Housing Corporation surged 14.19% after the company`s consolidated net profit surged 375.91% to Rs 100.56 crore on 171.40% spurt in net sales to Rs 181.43 crore in Q3 December 2023 over Q3 December 2022.

L&T Technology Services advanced 3.59% after the company`s consolidated net income rose 6.6% to Rs 336.2 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with net profit of Rs 315.4 crore posted in Q2 FY24. Total revenue rose 1.5% to Rs 2421.8 crore in Q3 FY24 from Rs 2386.5 crore recorded in Q2 FY24.

Network18 Media & Investments surged 9.4%. The company said that its consolidated net loss widened to Rs 58 crore in Q3 FY24 as against a net loss of Rs 7.68 crore reported in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations declined 4.11% to Rs 1,774 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2023 from Rs 1,850 crore recorded in the quarter ended 31 December 2022.

TV18 Broadcast jumped 7.78%. The media company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 12.29 crore in Q3 FY24 as against a net profit of Rs 41.64 crore posted in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations declined 5.18% year on year to Rs 1,676.19 crore in Q3 FY24, due to lower movie studio revenue.

PTC Industries rallied 3.07% after the company announced that its subsidiary Aerolloy Technologies has signed a multi-year agreement with Dassault Aviation for the supply of titanium casting parts made in India.

Rail Vikas Nigam rallied 7.70% after the firm informed that it has formed a joint venture (JV) with Jakson Green named JGPL-RVNL EPC for green clean energy projects.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company jumped 5.86% after the company�s net profit jumped 22.38% to Rs 431.46 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with Rs 352.53 crore posted in Q3 FY23. Total income increased by 14.69% to Rs 5,003.15 crore in Q3 FY24 as against Rs 4,362.00 crore recorded in corresponding quarter last year. C.E. Info Systems declined 2.18%. The company reported 5% growth in consolidated net profit to Rs 31.1 crore on a 36% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 92 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with Q3 FY23.

Karnataka Bank shed 0.66%. The bank and Clix Capital have entered into a strategic digital co-lending partnership through Yubi Co.lend Platform. This partnership is focused on providing loans to the Indian MSME sector.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Medi Assist Healthcare Services received bids for 31,87,75,170 shares as against 1,96,19,719 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 17:00 IST on Wednesday (17 January 2024). The issue was subscribed 16.25 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Monday (15 January 2024) and it will close on Wednesday (17 Thursday 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 397-418 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 35 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News