Mumbai, Oct 19: Benchmark equity indices ended sharply lower on Monday after a two-day rally, with the Sensex tumbling 876.37 points and the Nifty dropping below the 23,000 mark, dragged down by private lenders HDFC Bank and Axis Bank along with weak global cues.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 876.37 points, or 1.17 per cent, to settle at 73,852.90. During the day, it had crashed as much as 1,020.73 points, or 1.36 per cent, to touch 73,708.54. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 257.20 points, or 1.11 per cent, to close at 22,888.95.
Axis Bank was the biggest laggard among Sensex firms, declining 3.85 per cent despite the private sector lender reporting a 39.4 per cent jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 7,704.67 crore for the second quarter of FY 2026-27, supported by higher core income and improved asset quality. HDFC Bank shares fell over 2 per cent after its September quarter earnings failed to cheer investors. UltraTech Cement, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Trent and NTPC were among the other major losers. On the flip side, Adani Ports, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro, InterGlobe Aviation and Maruti Suzuki India ended in the green.
Analysts attributed the sell-off to disappointing bank earnings and weak global signals. Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Ltd, said Indian equities came under renewed selling pressure as weak global cues and selling in private banks and IT stocks weighed on sentiment. He noted that private banks remained under pressure on concerns over margin trends, while PSU banks bucked the broader weakness on expectations of relatively resilient margins and asset quality.
The broader market also reflected the weakness. The BSE MidCap Select index dropped 0.97 per cent and the SmallCap Select index fell 0.53 per cent. Among sectoral indices, Housing Finance tanked 2.42 per cent, FMCG slid 1.51 per cent, IT slipped 1.38 per cent, Insurance lost 1.33 per cent, Commodities fell 1.28 per cent, Top 10 Banks declined 1.23 per cent and Hospitals shed 1.22 per cent. In contrast, the PSU Bank index jumped 2.60 per cent, while MidSmall Private Banks Quality Tilt rose 1.08 per cent and MidSmall Private Banks gained 0.15 per cent.
Hariselvan Radhakrishnan, Founder & CEO of HST Wealth, said the market gave up Friday’s recovery as selling in index-heavy private banks, weak global technology cues and a break below the Nifty’s 23,000 mark accelerated the decline. Despite headline profit growth, investors focused on margin pressure, higher operating costs and weaker treasury income, he said, adding that IT stocks also declined as weakness in US technology and semiconductor shares encouraged profit booking.
Markets will remain closed on Tuesday for Dussehra. Meanwhile, Foreign Institutional Investors turned buyers on Friday after days of relentless selling, purchasing equities worth Rs 1,165.92 crore, according to exchange data.
Global markets offered little support. Brent crude declined 1.07 per cent to USD 108.7 per barrel. In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi and Shanghai’s SSE Composite ended higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 settled lower. European markets traded in negative territory, and US markets had ended lower on Friday, with the Nasdaq Composite dropping 2.14 per cent, the S&P 500 down 1.09 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declining 0.34 per cent.
On Friday, the Sensex had climbed 413.66 points, or 0.56 per cent, to settle at 74,729.27, while the Nifty rose 148.80 points, or 0.65 per cent, to close at 23,146.15.
Original Source: https://theshillongtimes.com/2026/10/20/sensex-tumbles-876-points-nifty-drops-below-22900-dragged-by-private-banks/
Category: Business
Tags:
Publish Date: 2026-10-20 05:44:00
