Sensex Tanks 1,172 Points, Nifty Ends Below 17,200; IT, Banking Stocks Drag

Infosys was the biggest loser on the 30-pack index as it shed 7.2 per cent; HDFC and HDFC Bank declined 4.81 per cent and 4.74 per cent, respectively

New Delhi: Key Indian equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Monday plunged sharply due to dismal Q4 earnings of HDFC Bank and Infosys along with soaring inflation and fresh Covid cases.  

The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked nearly 1,500 points intra-day to hit a low of 56,842. However, it erased losses mildly to end at 57,167, down 1,172 points (2 per cent).

On the NSE, the Nifty50 tumbled about 400 points intra-day to slip below the 17,100-mark. It settled at 17,174, down 302 points (1.7 per cent).

Infosys was the biggest loser on the 30-pack index as it shed 7.2 per cent. The stock reported its sharpest intra-day fall in past two years. On March 23, 2020, Infosys had tanked 12 per cent in the intra-day trade on the BSE.

HDFC and HDFC Bank declined 4.81 per cent and 4.74 per cent, respectively.

Apart from Infosys and HDFC twins, TechM, Wipro, TCS, HCL Tech, Asian Paints, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and SBI were among the top losers.

On the flip side, NTPC, Tata Steel, Maruti, Titan, M&M, Hindustan Unilever, PowerGrid, Nestle India, Axis Bank, and ITC settled in the positive zone.

Midcap and smallcap shares finished on a weak note as Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 1.05 per cent down and the smallcap shed 1.25 per cent.

12 out of the 15 sector gauges, compiled by the National Stock Exchange, ended in the red. Nifty IT and Nifty Bank underperformed the index by falling as much as 4.58 per cent and 1.96 per cent, respectively.

On Wednesday, the Sensex declined 237 points to settle at 58,338. The NSE Nifty dipped 54.65 points to finish at 17,475.

Meanwhile, the wholesale price-based inflation spiked to a four-month high of 14.55 per cent in March on rising prices of crude oil and other commodities due to disruption in global supply chain in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war, a development that may prompt the RBI to raise interest rates to contain price rise.

In Asia, markets in Seoul, Shanghai, and Tokyo settled lower. Hong Kong was closed for a holiday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.18 per cent to $111.5 per barrel.

Stock markets were closed on Thursday for Mahavir Jayanti and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti, as well as on Friday on account of Good Friday.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth a net Rs 2,061.04 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.