Globally, investors also chose to book profits as the recent rally propelled by the expectations of a larger fiscal stimulus in the US faced resistance.
The concerns raised by the December quarter earnings of Bandhan Bank in the banking pack also triggered selling in the market as investors are concerned that more banks may report weak asset quality.
Today, the Nifty 50 index ended 218.45 points or 1.50 per cent lower at 14,590.35 and the BSE-Sensex closed at 48,878.54, down 1.5 per cent or 746.2 points.
Here are the major movers in today’s trade:
Banks sink Dalal Street
Lenders were the biggest culprits behind the losses on the benchmark indices today, as they tumbled on concerns that asset quality of the sector may not be as good as it was expected few months ago. The concerns were caused by the NPA shocker dropped by Bandhan Bank. The Nifty Bank index closed 3.2 per cent lower.
Bandhan Bank sees sell-off
The stock plummeted another 8 per cent after falling more than 5 per cent yesterday after it surprised investors with a sharp jump in provisions and deterioration in proforma gross non-performing assets (NPAs) ratio.
Metals cool in line with global markets
Shares of metal companies saw heavy profit booking from investors given the strong run-up in the sector over the past four months likely driven by global risk-off sentiments seen from Tokyo to London today. The Nifty Metal index ended 3.9 per cent lower.
Bajaj Auto soars with earnings
Bajaj Auto stock clocked its biggest one-day gains in recent months as it rose 10.4 per cent as investors cheered the company’s strong Q3 earnings performance reported on Thursday. The company reported record net profit and two-year high EBITDA margins that surpasses the Street’s estimate.
Biocon tanks as biosimilar chief exits
Shares of Biocon tanked 11 per cent after the company said that the chief executive officer of its biosimilar arm Biocon Biologics has exited the company, raising concerns over the company’s biggest revenue generating subsidiary.
What’s giving sell signal?
As many as 45 stocks gave “sell” signal on the NSE on the basis of MACD indicators including ITC, Punjab National Bank, Wipro, and HDFC Bank.
What’s ahead for the market?
Traders today heavily bought out-of-money put options of the Nifty 50 index suggesting that the index could continue to see weakness next week. Market participants suggested that profit booking is likely ahead of Budget on February 1.
“The week remained highly volatile which could continue unless Nifty breaks below the 14,200 mark which is its immediate support in the short term. A break below the same can trigger a huge profit-booking move to 13,100 on the downside,” said Nirali Shah, senior research analyst at Samco Securities.
