Reader Wall Business News: Stock Market Takes Heavy Hit
BSE and NSE Suffer Significant Losses
Turbulence impacted the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) as the Sensex index plunged by a staggering 1600 points on Wednesday. The day ended with the Sensex at 71,511, following an early descent that carried through till the closing bell.
In a similar vein, the Nifty index on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) suffered a plunge, dropping to 21,573 points at the day’s closure. This sharp drop is viewed as the largest crash that the NSE Nifty has felt since July 2022, descending notably beneath its all-time high from earlier in the week.
Stock Indexes Fail to Sustain Early Week Peaks
It is worth noting that both the Sensex and Nifty had reached record peaks earlier in the week, with the former cresting above the 73,000 mark and the latter exceeding the 22,300 points. However, after five continuous days of a bullish market, the profusely bloated indexes succumbed to a significant crash.
Upon the ringing of the opening bell on Wednesday, the Sensex was already down by approximately 1300 points. It had further tumbled by a total of 1,638 points by 3:30 pm, concluding the day at 71,511 points. Meanwhile, the Nifty, had come down by 460 points on Wednesday, closing at 21,573.
Nifty Bank and BSE Suffer Major Declines
The Nifty Bank also bore the brunt of the day’s decline, dropping by a significant margin of 2,060 points to close at 46,064 on Wednesday. Among the sectors suffering the most from the decline, Nifty Bank topped the list, with BSE Sensex coming in as a close second.
HDFC Bank Shares Experience Largest Decline
The leading underperformer for the day was HDFC Bank, as its shares plummeted over 8 percent, a day after posting its quarterly results. These reported stagnant margins and profits failed to meet expectations. To be specific, HDFC Bank recorded an 8.44 percent drop a day following its Q3 results release, leaving its shares valued at ₹1,537.50 at the close of business.
Other Notable Decliners
Other major decliners for the day included the likes of Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra, Axis Bank, Adani Enterprises and ICICI Bank. Each of these played a part in the significant downfall of the Nifty Bank, a development largely attributed to the underwhelming quarterly earnings posted by HDFC Bank.
Not All Negative: Some Stocks Show Marginal Growth
Despite the overbearing negative performance of the markets, a handful of stocks demonstrated marginal growth. HCL Technologies emerged as the leading gainer on Wednesday with its share price rising by 1.31 percent, concluding the day priced at ₹1,575.90.
Among other gainers in the bear market were SBI Insurance, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Tech Mahindra. Despite the day’s challenging trading environment, these stocks managed to post growth, although this was less than one percent on the closing of January 17.
