Sensex drops 671 points, Nifty nears 17,400 in broad sell-off; bank stocks tank

Equity markets roiled in global sell-off as contagion effect of overnight selling in the US markets, especially bank stocks, dented sentiment. The S&P BSE Sensex crashed 671 points, or 1.12 per cent, to close at 59,135. The Nifty50, meanwhile, gave up the 17,450-mark to end at 17,413, falling 177 points or 1 per cent. These indices hit intra-day lows of 58,885, and 17,324, respectively.

Financial stocks were the worst hit today, amid near broad-based selling, with HDFC Bank (down 2.6 per cent), HDFC, SBI, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, and Bajaj Finance featuring among the top 15 laggards on the Sensex. Index-wise, the Nifty PSU Bank index declined 2.2 per cent, while the Nifty Bank and Private Bank indices fell 1.8 per cent each.

Other large-cap laggards were RIL, L&T, M&M, and Asian Paints, down up to 1.5 per cent.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices dropped less than 1 per cent each.

Tata Motors subsidiary Tata Technologies is heading for an initial public offering (IPO), almost two decades after IT bellwether Tata Consultancy Services became the last Tata group firm to test Indian public markets in 2004.

Shares of KSB surged 9% to trade near new high on strong order book position. The management believes that the demand for capital products will further grow, owing to increased capital investment in infrastructure in this budget.

Shares of Titagarh Wagons hit a new high and have zoomed 65% in 6 months on a healthy outlook. As per financial bid opening dated March 1, 2023, the TWL-BHEL Consortium has been declared L2. The total quantity is 200 Trainsets and as per tender conditions, L2 is eligible to get 80 Trainsets. The quote of L1 bidder is Rs 120 crore per Trainset, the company said in an exchange filing.

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