Sensex dives 888 points; Nifty settles below 19,750; Infosys & HUL tanks up to 8%; Utkarsh SFB jumps 92% over issue price

Domestic equity shares crashed sharply on Friday on the back of profit booking, particularly after muted Q1 earnings by Infosys and HUL. Traders took some money off the table ahead of June quarter results of Reliance Industries. Sharp selloff in the index heavyweights weighed on the market sentiments after a stellar secular rally.

Utkarsh Small Finance Bank made a strong debut of 60 per cent over its issue price of Rs 25, but ended with overall gains of 92 per cent for the day, hitting the 20 per cent upper circuit from the listing price. Bulls took a breather at Dalal Street, as headline peers crashed more than a per cent each.

For the day, BSE's barometer Sensex tanked 887.64 points, or 1.31 per cent, to end the session at 66,684.26, while NSE's Nifty50 plunged 234 points, or 1.17 per cent, to settle at 19,745. Broader markets were mixed as BSE midcap index was slightly down but the smallcap index managed to post some gains. Fear gauge India VIX dropped about 3 per cent to end the week at 11.49-level.

Today Markets broke its six-day winning streak, due to dismal June quarter results from giants like Infosys and Hindustan Unilever. Apart from the US, India is the most expensive market in the world amidst the rally of the last month. Thus, some negative triggers lead to some corrections in the market, said Riches Vanara, Technical And Derivatives Analyst, StoxBox.

"The backlash in the IT stocks came following weak guidance by Infosys’ management. The index closed marginally below the immediate support zone of 19,790-19,750. The index is anticipated to attract bullish momentum only if the index manages to reclaim the support zone immediately," he added.

On a sectoral front, the Nifty IT index plunged more than 4 per cent, while the Nifty FMCG and consumer durable indices dropped more than a per cent, each. Only the Nifty PSU Bank, auto and media indices could manage to settle in green for the day.

In the Nifty50 index, Infosys dropped about 8 per cent, while Hindustan Unilever tanked 4 per cent after a muted Q1 performance. HCL Technologies, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services and Reliance Industries settled 3 per cent lower, each. Tata Consumer and Tech Mahindra were down 2 per cent, each.

Among the gainers, Larsen & Toubro surged about 4 per cent each on the back of order wins and buyback buzz. ONGC ended 2 per cent up, while NTPC, State Bank of India, Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp and Kotak Mahindra Bank added about a per cent each for the day.

The weak guidance from Infosys cast a shadow over the outlook of the Indian IT sector, causing a delay in Nifty's pursuit of the 20,000. While the heavyweights surrendered to the bears, the small caps demonstrated resilience. Global markets presented a mixed picture, with the US market struggling due to weak earnings, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

A total of 3,514 shares were traded on BSE on Friday, of which 1,765 settled with cuts. 1,625 stocks ended the session with gains while 124 shares remained unchanged. A total of 144 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 69 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, Quick Heal Technologies plunged 9 per cent after muted Q1 numbers, while Rajratan Global Wire, Wendt and Himatsingka Seide were down 7 per cent each. CIE India Automotive, Novartis India, Coffee Day Enterprises and KPIT Technologies tumbled 6 per cent during the session.

On the contrary, DB Corp ended 17 per cent higher, while Tanla Platforms and Lancer Container Line were up 13 per cent each. IndiaMart InterMesh, Heritage Foods and Stylam Industries gained 9 per cent each for the day. Electrononics Mart India ended 8 per cent up for the day.

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