Sensex tanks 695 pts, Nifty below 18,070; HDFC twins crack 6% Manappuram drops 11%

Domestic equity markets were in a tight bear grip on Friday as the selling pressure on index heavyweights dragged the headline peers lower. Renewed banking concern in the US also weighed on the sentiments on Dalal Street. Investors were awaiting the US jobs data due later in the day. For the day, BSE Sensex plunged more 694.96 points, or 1.13 per cent, to settle at 61,054.29, while NSE's Nifty50 tumbled 186.80 points, or 1.02 per cent, to close at 18,069. Broader markets outperformed the headline peers as BSE midcap and smallcap indices shed about a per cent each. Fear gauge India VIX spiked about 5 per cent to 12.30-levels. In lieu of a steep fall in the US markets, domestic investors resorted to profit-taking in banking, financials, metals and IT stocks that saw the Sensex almost slip below the 61000-mark. Indian markets have been on a roll in recent weeks and have been shrugging off global challenges for a while, said Amol Athawale, Technical Analyst (DVP), Kotak Securities. "Technically, on daily and weekly charts the Nifty held the higher bottom formation but on weekly charts it has formed a Hammer candlestick pattern which is broadly negative. For traders 18,200 would be the key resistance zone, below the same the market could retest the level of 17,900. On further correction, the index could slip till 17,800. On the flip side, a fresh uptrend rally is possible only after the dismissal of 18,200. Above the same, the market could move up till 18,300-18,350," he said. On a sectoral front Nifty Consumer Durable index rose over a per cent. Other than this, only Nifty Auto and FMCG indices were able to end the day in green. Among the losers, the Nifty Private Bank Index plunged about 3 per cent, followed by a 2 per cent fall in the Nifty Financial Services Index. Nifty Metal and PSU Bank indices ended about a per cent lower. In the Nifty50 index, HDFC Bank and HDFC topped among the losers as both heavyweights dropped 6 per cent on the back MSCI rejig. IndusInd Bank dropped 5 per cent, Hindalco, Tata Steel and UPL settled 2 per cent lower. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and Cipla were among the other top laggards. On the contrary, Titan Company rose more than 2 per cent, followed by a 2 per cent rise in Maruti Suzuki, Ultratech Cement and Nestle India. Apollo Hospitals, ITC, Hero Motocorp and Larsen & Toubro were among the other top gainers on the index. The Indian market was dragged down by heavy selling in HDFC twins on fears of post-merger fund outflow, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. "In addition, the cues from global peers were lackluster as the ECB raised rates by 25bps and signalled the need for further rate hikes. Wall Street has witnessed prolonged selling pressure due to apprehensions in the banking sector about the strength of regional banks," he said. A total of 3,641 shares were traded on BSE on Friday, of which 2,038 settled with cuts. 1,474 stocks ended the session with gains while 129 shares remained unchanged. A total of 160 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 118 tested the lower circuit levels for the day. In the broader markets, Manappuram Finance plunged over 11 per cent as its MD and CEO received an order freezing his personal assets. Accelya Solutions India shed 10 per cent after Air India refused to continue its deal with the company,  while Entertainment Network (India) and Federal Bank shed 9 per cent on the back of muted quarterly numbers. Among the gainers, AGI Greenpac hit an upper circuit of 20 per cent after reporting a strong performance in the March 2023 quarter. Take Solutions rallied 17 per cent on the back of heavy volumes, Rail Vikas Nigam continued to extend its gains and hit another record high. Greenply Industries gained 9 per cent as its subsidiary commenced trial production of Medium-density fibreboard.