Sensex dives 677 points, Nifty settles below 19,550; Redington, Sula Vineyards crack up to 10%

It was a bloodbath at Dalal Street as benchmark indices settled sharply lower on Wednesday. Sensex settled below the 66,000 mark, while Nifty50 barely managed to hold 19,500 level after rating agency Fitch downgraded the US government's top credit rating. Fitch's latest move led to havoc as bears dragged the indices lower.

For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex plunged 676.53 points, or 1.02 per cent, to settled at 65,782.78, while NSE's Nifty50 tanked 207 points, or 1.05 per cent, to end the day at 19,526.55. Broader markets cracked in tandem as BSE midcap and smallcap indices shed a per cent each. Fear gauge India VIX spiked sharply about 10 per cent to 11.28-levels.

FIIs seem to have sold off local equities after the record rally last month. We are seeing valuations getting stretched, and with a lot of uncertainty still around in the global arena on interest rates and higher inflation levels, investors are likely to pare their exposure at regular intervals in the near to medium term, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities.

"Technically, after the dismissal of the 20-day SMA support levels the selling pressure has intensified. We are of the view that 19,450 would be the immediate support zone for the bulls. Above which, we could see a one quick pullback rally till 19,580-19,600. On the flip side, fresh selling pressure is possible only after the dismissal of 19,450," he added.

All the sectoral indices settled in red for the day, thanks to the bloodbath on Dalal Street. The Nifty PSU bank index dropped about 3 per cent, while the Nifty metal, auto and media indices dropped 2 per cent each. The Nifty oil & gas, realty, private bank and financial services indices dropped over a per cent each.

In the Nifty50 pack, only five stocks managed to settle in green. Divis Laboratories rose about 2 per cent, while Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever and Asian Paints added a per cent each. Tech Mahindra was the other only gain among the blue-chips for the day.
 

On the downside, Hero MotoCorp topped among the losers, falling over 3 per cent after ED searches. Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Bajaj Finserv tumbled over 3 per cent each. NTPC and Eicher Motors were also down on the similar lines, while Eichers Motors, Hindalco, LTIMindTree, JSW Steel, Bajaj Auto and State Bank of India shed more than 2 per cent each.

The Indian market witnessed a broad sectoral slide, affected by weak global market trends. Negative news regarding the US rating downgrade on fiscal concerns, coupled with weak factory activity data from Eurozone and China, led to widespread worries across the globe, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

A total of 3,738 shares were traded on BSE on Wednesday, of which 2,328 settled with cuts. 1,266 stocks ended the session with gains while 144 shares remained unchanged. A total of 198 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 226 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, Suryoday Small Finance Bank tanked more than 11 per cent, while Redington India dropped over 10 per cent after dismal Q1 earnings. Sula Vineyards settled 8 per cent down after getting an excise notice of Rs 116 crore. Tracxn Technologies also tumbled 8 per cent for the day.

Among the gainers, MPS hit an upper circuit of 20 per cent, while Man Industries gained over 14 per cent for the day.  GE Power India and Star Cement surged 10 per cent each, while SpiceJet ended 7 per cent up. Supriya Lifesciences gained more than 6 per cent, while Indiabulls Housing Finance ended 5 per cent higher.

Also read: Hot stocks on August 2, 2023: IRFC, Hawkins Cookers, Reliance Power, Sula Vineyards and more

Also read: Adani Wilmar Q1 results: Adani firm may report single-digit rise in profit, says Nuvama