After a day’s hiatus, trading resumed at Dalal street and domestic stocks cracked for the day. Hindenburg Research’s report left Adani Group stocks bleeding for the day, and banks felt the rub-off effect of the same. Markets turned anxious ahead of the much-awaited Union Budget, scheduled next week.
Hawkish tone from the US Fed after mixed macroeconomic data and constant FII selling in the Indian equities dented the market sentiments further. The intense sell-off at the Dalal Street made investors poorer by Rs 6.6 lakh crore for the day.
For the day, BSE Sensex tumbled 874.16 points or 1.45 per cent to 59,330.90, whereas NSE’s Nifty50 Index settled at 17,604.35, falling 287.60 points or 1.61 per cent. BSE midcap and smallcap indices dropped up to 2 per cent, while the fear gauge India VIX spiked sharply over 18 per cent to 17.32-level.
The sharp slump in the Indian market was triggered by an unfavorable research report on Asia’s richest promoter group companies, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
“This is also affecting the banking stocks even though the results of the sector are optimistic due to high group lending, indicating potential risk. PSU banks are the most impacted compared to private banks owing to high exposure. The FIIs’ cautious stance ahead of the Union Budget and FOMC meetings also fueled the collapse,” he said.
Adani Group stocks bled the most. Bluechip counters including Adani Ports and Adani Enterprises plunged up to 18 per cent, whereas Adani Transmission, Adani Total Gas and Adani Green Energy hit lower circuit of 20 per cent each. Adani Power and Adani Wilmar shed 5 per cent each, maximum of their circuit limits.
Other acquired companies including Ambuja Cements retreated 18 per cent, whereas ACC tanked 12 per cent. New Delhi Television (NDTV) was locked in seller’s circuit of 5 per cent for the day.
Nifty auto, pharma and FMCG indices were the only sectors to end the day with gains. PSU Bank and metal indices plunged 5 per cent, followed by 3 per cent fall in private bank and financial services indices. Realty and IT index were also down a per cent each.
Barring the Adani Group stocks, Stata Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Indusind Bank plunged 4-5 per cent each among Nifty50 counters. ONGC, BPCL and Kotak Mahindra Bank weakened 3 per cent each, whereas Hindalco, Axis Bank, Reliance, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra and Asian Paints shed 2 per cent each.
On the contrary, Tata Motors and Bajaj Auto rallied 6 per cent each after strong quarterly performance. Tata Motors was back in black in Q3, whereas Bajaj Auto reported a healthy set of numbers in the December 2022 quarter. Dr Reddy’s Labs jumped 3 per cent, whereas ITC was up 2 per cent.
Indian equities ended lower, dragged down by banking and financial stocks, amid mixed cues in the global markets. Moreover, depreciating currency and rising crude prices recently are key concern now for investors over near term, said Mitul Shah, Head of research at Reliance Securities.
The earnings season is in full swing and markets are closely following the management commentary. So far, the 3QFY23 results suggest increased revenue growth with some pressure on the margin front. The US December macroeconomic data were dismal, pointing to a slowdown for the world’s largest economy, he added.
A total of 3,658 stocks that traded for the day on BSE, of which 2,652 settled lower, while 904 settled higher. Remaining 131 stocks ended unchanged. A total 102 stocks hit an upper circuit on BSE, whereas 274 stocks hit the lower circuit during the trading session.
In the broader markets, other companies including GTL infra and Dixon Technologies were other key losers, dropping 19 per cent each. Kiri Industries, Indus Towers, Nureca and SVP Global plunged 11-15 per cent each. Monarch Networth Capital, Power Mech Projects and Minda Corp posted double digits cuts for the day.
Unichem Labs, Sandur Manganese and Iron Ore, Jindal Saw,, Chennai Petrochem, Supreme Industries and AIA Engineering zoomed 5-9 per cent each. Max Health, Shalimar Paints, Emami, PVT and TTK Prestige Estates were among the key gainers for the day.
Also read: Adani Gas, Adani Green, Adani Power, Adani Transmission and other group stocks tank up to 20%
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