The Indian equity benchmarks fell sharply lower on Monday dragged down by selling pressure in index heavyweights like HDFC Bank and Infosys after they reported weak March quarter earnings over last week. The Sensex fell as much as 1,496 points and Nifty 50 index dropped below its important psychological level of 17,100 at the day's lowest level. Fall in Infosys and HDFC Bank alone contributed over 650 points towards fall in the Sensex, data from the BSE showed.
The Sensex dropped 1,172 points or 2 per cent to close at 57,167 and Nifty 50 index tumbled 302 points or 1.73 per cent to close at 17,174.
"We believe global cues as well as the outcome of Q4 earnings will continue to add volatility in the coming sessions. Hence, we would remain cautious on the markets and suggest traders to keep their position hedged," said Ajit Mishra, VP - research at Religare Broking.
Infosys shares plunged as much as 9 per cent, its biggest single-day fall in over two years, to hit lowest level since July 20, 2021 of Rs 1,592 after it reported March quarter earnings which were below analyst estimates. Infosys reported net profit of Rs 5,686 crore against analysts’ expectation of Rs 5,980 crore. Its margins came under pressure owing to salary hikes it offered to employees to control the spiralling attrition. Infosys’ attrition jumped to 27.7 per cent in March quarter compared with 10.9 per cent in the year ago period.
HDFC Bank also dropped nearly 5 per cent to close at Rs 1,398 after it reported March quarter earnings. HDFC Bank's net profit rose 23 per cent to Rs 10,055 crore while its net interest margin expanded 10 per cent to Rs 18,872 crore which was below street estimate.
HDFC, Tech Mahindra, Apollo Hospitals, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Asian Paints, Bharat Petroleum, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finserv and State Bank of India also fell between 1.5-5 per cent.
On the flipside, Tata Steel was among the top Nifty gainers, the stock jumped 1.6 per cent to close at Rs 1,340 after the company informed exchanges that its board will consider stock split proposal at its board meeting on May 3.
NTPC, SBI Life, HDFC Life, Maruti Suzuki, Titan, Cipla, Hindustan Unilever, Coal India and Eicher Motors also rose between 1-6 per cent.
Selling pressure was visible across sectors as twelve of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended lower led by the Nifty IT index's 4.6 per cent fall. Nifty Bank, PSU Bank, Private Bank, Realty and Financial Services indices also fell between 1-2 per cent.
On the other hand, auto, FMG and metal indices managed to close higher.
Mid- and small-cap shares also faced selling pressure as Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices fell over 1 per cent each.
The overall market breadth was negative as 2,061 shares ended lower while 1,464 closed higher on the BSE.
