Markets crash, hammered by robust selling in heavyweights

Mumbai: The Sensex plunged 1,172 points while the Nifty crashed below the 17,200-level on Monday, hammered by robust selling in market heavyweights Infosys and HDFC Bank following their below-estimate results. Investors' wealth tumbled over Rs 2.58 lakh crore.

Resuming trade after a two-day holiday last week, the BSE Sensex tumbled 1,172.19 points or 2.01 per cent to settle at 57,166.74 — marking its fourth straight session

of loss.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty plunged 302 points or 1.73 per cent to 17,173.65.

Infosys was the top loser in the Sensex pack, plummeting 7.27 per cent, after the country's second-largest software services company posted a 12 per cent rise in its March quarter net profit, missing market estimates.

HDFC Bank lost 4.74 per cent after the largest private sector lender on Saturday reported a 23 per cent jump in Q4 standalone net profit, led by lower provisions, even as other metrics like net interest income came in below expectations.

HDFC, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, TCS and HCL Tech were the other major laggards

In contrast, NTPC, Tata Steel, Maruti, Titan, HUL, M&M and Nestle India were among the gainers, spurting as much as 6.11 per cent.

The market breadth was negative, with 20 of the 30 Sensex constituents closing in the red.

India's 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.

The BSE smallcap gauge fell 1.01 per cent, while the midcap index lost 0.95 per cent.

As many as 2,062 stocks declined, while 1,462 advanced and 146 remained unchanged.

Among BSE sectoral indices, IT declined the most by 4.76 per cent, followed by teck (4.60 per cent), finance (2.12 per cent) and telecom (1.77 per cent).

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

The rupee declined 10 paise to close at 76.29 against the US dollar on Monday, tracking the strength of the greenback overseas.