Sensex slumps 861 pts, Nifty sinks below 21,800, HDFC Bank drops 5%

The benchmark indices witnessed a sharp selloff on Wednesday as heavy selling in banking stocks weighed on overall market with HDFC Bank share price cracking more than 5% after reporting December quarter earnings. The Nifty slipped below the 21,800 level. Banking, financial services and metal stocks dragged lower while media, IT and oil & gas shares bucked the trend.

At 09:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 861.35 points or 1.18% to 72,267.42. The Nifty 50 index lost 261.15 points or 1.19% to 21,771.15.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.57% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index lost 0.40%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,019 shares rose and 1,884 shares fell. A total of 97 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 656.57 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 369.29 crore in the Indian equity market on 16 January, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

HDFC Bank dropped 5.05%.The private lender`s net profit stood at Rs 16372.54 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with net profit of Rs 15976.11 crore posted in Q2 FY24. Total income stood at Rs 81719.65 crore in Q3 FY24 from Rs 78406.23 crore recorded in Q2 FY24.

L&T Technology Services advanced 2.03% after the company`s consolidated net income rose 6.6% to Rs 336.2 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with net profit of Rs 315.4 crore posted in Q2 FY24. Total revenue rose 1.5% to Rs 2421.8 crore in Q3 FY24 from Rs 2386.5 crore recorded in Q2 FY24.

UltraTech Cement rose 0.67%. The company has incorporated a Wholly-owned Subsidiary viz. �Letein Valley Cement Limited� on 16th January 2024 to carry on the business of mining of limestone and other raw materials, manufacture and sale of cement.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.11% to 7.154 as compared with previous close 7.146

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.1525, compared with its close of 83.1200 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2024 settlement rose 0.03% to Rs 62035.00.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.06% to 103.41.

The United States 10-year bond yield shed 0.17% to 4.060.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2024 settlement shed 38 cents or 0.49% to $77.91 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks tumbled on Wednesday, with Hong Kong and South Korea leading losses after China�s fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth missed estimates. The country�s economy grew by 5.2% in the October to December period last year, China�s National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. GDP climbed 5.2% for the whole of 2023.

U.S. markets dropped on Tuesday as bond yields ticked higher and Wall Street pored through the latest batch of fourth-quarter earnings. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller indicated in a speech that the central bank could ease monetary policy slower than anticipated.

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