Sensex dives 600 points: Rs 1.5L cr investor wealth lost; Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank top drags
Indian equity benchmarks fell sharply in late deals on Thursday, extending their fall for the second consecutive session. The BSE Sensex slumped over 600 points while the NSE barometer Nifty hit the sub-17,900 level. At 1.59 pm, the 30-pack Sensex was down 500 points or 0.82 per cent at 60,158. The NSE benchmark was down 117 points or 0.65 per cent at 17,926. Such was the fall in the domestic indices that nearly Rs 1.5 lakh crore of BSE market capitalisation (m-cap) was wiped out. Bajaj Finance fell sharply in Thursday’s trade despite reporting record new loan and customer franchise growth in the third quarter (Q3) of the current financial year 2022-23 (FY23), dragging the heavyweight financial sector. Lower than expected assets under management (AUM) growth led to a decline in shares of Bajaj Finance today, analysts said.
Here’s a look at today’s market fall in numbers:
Rs 1.5 lakh crore investor wealth lost
Investor wealth, as suggested by the BSE m-cap, fell Rs 1.46 lakh crore to Rs 280.25 lakh crore compared with a valuation of Rs 281.75 lakh crore recorded yesterday. Frontline stocks such as HDFC twins (HDFC and HDFC Bank), Reliance Industries, Infosys, ITC, L&T, SBI, ICICI Bank, PowerGrid and Tata Motors contributed to the fall.
28 stocks hit 52-week lows on BSE
As many as 28 stocks hit their 52-week lows today. BSE stocks such as Aavas Financiers, Relaxo Footwears and MapMyIndia (CE Info Systems) and 25 other stocks hit their respective one-year low levels. That said, 94 stocks touched their one-year high levels today.
1,997 stocks in the red
Out of 3,564 stocks, 1,997 stocks were seen declining. Only 1,403 stocks were advancing while 164 stocks remained unchanged.
Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank drop 7%
Shares of Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Infosys, Titan, PowerGrid, Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, Wipro, HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel fell as much as 7.03 per cent in late deals.
Financial, banks and IT stocks top drag
For Sensex, the major culprits that dragged the index lower were ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, HDFC, TCS and Titan. HDFC twins, RIL and Infosys alone contributed negatively to around 350-point decline.
On NSE, 10 out of the 15 sub-indices were down. However, gains in automobile, consumer goods, pharma and energy stocks capped some losses.
FII-DII data
Foreign institutional investors sold Rs 2,620.89 crore worth of equities on a net basis on Wednesday, while domestic investors bought about Rs 773.58 crore worth of shares, as per provisional NSE data.
On the global front, Asian markets were seen trading on a higher note today mirroing an overnight gain in the US stocks.
Also Read: ICICI Bank, SBI, IndusInd Bank: Why is Jefferies bullish on these lenders
Also Read: Tata Steel shares climb to eight-month high; here’s the new target price
