Sensex Plunges Over 1,150 pts at Close, Nifty Below 17,200; IT Stocks Drag

Key benchmark indices on Monday had a gap-down opening amid week global cues. At 09:17 IST, the Sensex was down 1,129.62 points or 1.94 per cent at 57209.31, and the Nifty was down 299.20 points or 1.71 per cent at 17176.50. About 950 shares have advanced, 1611 shares declined, and 142 shares are unchanged. Infosys and HDFC Bank tanked 6 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively, on disappointing Q4 earnings.

Tech M, HDFC, Wipro, HCL Tech, TCS, Axis Bank, Bajaj finserv, Kotak Bank and Axis Bank were the other top laggards on the Sensex, while Twere the only players in green.

On the flip side, Tata Steel, NTPC, ITC, PowerGrid, Nestle, ONGC, Cipla, M&M, and Bajaj Auto were the gainers on the Sensex and Nifty.

The broader markets also opened in the red. The BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were down up to 1.4 per cent. Sectorally, Nifty IT index led losses, and fell over 3 per cent. Nifty Bank, Financials, and Realty were the other notable losers. On the other hand, Nifty FMCH, Auto, and Pharma pockets were largely flat.

Among other stocks, Indiabulls Real estate fell over 4 per cent. The company has raised Rs 8.65 billion (US$ 114 million) at Rs 101.10 per equity share through Qualified Institutional Placement.

Rahul Shah, co-head of research at Equitymaster, said: “If you look at the data, Infy along with the HDFC twins contributed 2/3rds to the overall market decline of nearly 1,200 points on the Sensex. While there are stock as well as sector-specific reasons for the poor performance of these counters, the broader outlook isn’t encouraging either. A new threat of supply chain disruption has emerged following rise in Covid cases in China. Add this to the already present challenges like inflation, geopolitics, and rate hikes and you’ll know why markets are behaving the way they are. While no one knows whether this fall will worsen, it may be a good idea to be very selective in-stock selection and choose only the ones with strong fundamentals and reasonable valuations.”