Rs 1.59 lakh cr gone! Sensex sheds 600 pts on losses in lenders

NEW DELHI: Profit booking in bank and financial stocks put immense pressure on benchmark indices while sell-off in IT and pharma stocks also supported the bears’ cause. Negative global cues further dampened the mood.

Benchmark indices have been in a consolidation mode after a steep multi-month rally. Possible gains from better than expected Q2 earnings and impending foreign fund flows is being checked by uncertainty over stimulus and rising infections in western world.

The 30-share pack Sensex slumped 599.64 points or 1.48 per cent to Rs 39,922.46 while its broader peer NSE Nifty plunged 159.80 points or 1.34 per cent to 11,729.60.

Investors became poorer by Rs 1.59 lakh crore at the end of the day as total market cap of BSE-listed companies fell to Rs 158.19 lakh crore.

“The positive trend is going to be difficult to maintain since the global market is turning cautious due to rising Covid cases worldwide, uncertainties over the US election and stimulus. After the initial rush, we are falling in tandem with the weak global trend as the world’s economic recovery will slow down this quarter,” said Vinod Nair, Head Of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Market at a glance:

• Bharti Airtel rises over 4% after NSDL raises FII limit to 100%
• Titan Q2 profits drop 38%, but in-line with estimates
• Dr Reddy’s says recovery of data from recent security breach underway
• India VIX, indicator of volatility, surges about 5% to 23.28
• 88 stocks hit 52-week highs: Adani Green, APL Apollo, Asian Paints, Ipca Labs, Just Dial, and Supreme Industries among top names

Among Nifty stocks, Bharti Airtel was the biggest gainer, up 3.38 per cent at Rs 448. UPL, M&M, Eicher Motors, Hero Motocorps, L&T and Wipro were among other gainers, up in the range of 0-3 per cent.

HDFC was the biggest loser in the Nifty index, down 3.50 per cent to Rs 1,970. IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Adani Ports, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cement and Bajaj Finance were other major losers from the pack.
Broader market indices were also under selling pressure but performed better in comparison to their headline peers. Nifty Smallcap ended 0.98 per cent lower and Nifty Midcap 0.99 per cent. Nifty 500, the broadest index on NSE, dropped 1.19 per cent.

Castrol India, ICICI Securities, RBL Bank, Delta Corps, Lux Industries and Radico Khaitan were among the top mid and smallcap gainers, rising in the range of 2-7 per cent in Wednesday trade.

On the other hand, Amara Raja Batteries, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, Mindtree, Thyrocare Technologies, Tata Elxsi and Affle India were top losers from broader market space, settling down 4-7 per cent.

All sectoral indices closed in the red. Nifty Realty, Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Service were among those that dropped over 2 per cent each while Nifty IT, Nifty Pharma and Nifty Metal dropped more than a per cent each.

Market breadth was in favour of the losers as 995 stocks ended in the green, while 1,627 names settled with cuts. As many as 88 securities hit 52-week highs, mostly from the smallcap space. Meanwhile, 47 names hit 52-week lows, mostly from the microcap space. About 215 stocks hit upper circuit limits and 224 lower circuit limits.

European markets were trading with sharp cuts. Germany was down nearly 3 per cent while France 2.55 per cent. FTSE traded with loss of 1.5 per cent. Barring Kospi and Shanghai Composite, all Asian markets closed with cuts. Singapore-based Strait Times was the biggest loser, down 1.17 per cent.

Let’s prepare for tomorrow:

• Q2 earnings: Arvind, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, BPCL, Tata Chemicals, TVS Motor, Maruti Suzuki and Voda Idea among major names that will release their quarterly print.

• F&O expiry: Futures and options contracts will expire on THursday that may induce volatility in the market.