Indian equity benchmark indices recorded their biggest single-day fall in more than one-and-a-half years following an intense sell-off in banking, metal and oil stocks prompted by weak global trends.
The BSE Sensex tanked 1,628.01 points or 2.23 per cent to settle at 71,500.76. The NSE Nifty fell 460.35 points or 2.09 per cent to close at 21,571.95. The indices suffered their worst single-day losses in percentage terms since 13 June 2022.
Except IT, all sectors ended in red amid a highly volatile session. Banking sector was the worst hit with Nifty Bank down 4 per cent as Q3 results of HDFC Bank showed stagnant growth for the company.
“After making a recent fresh high above 22k levels, Nifty saw a steep fall and turned weak in the near term impacted by negative global and domestic cues. Hawkish Fed commentary, escalating tension in the Middle East, and a spike in bond yield spike dented investor sentiment. On the domestic front, the market would look at quarterly results for stock-specific action and we expect indices to consolidate after a sharp sell-off,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
Here are the top stocks to watch on 18 January:
HDFC Bank
HDFC Bank’s American Depository Receipts (ADRs) ended sharply lower by around 8.2 per cent at $56.15 on the NYSE on 17 January after negative views by most analysts on the bank’s weak Q3 results. This shows that session on 18 January is also expected to be weak for the stock in Indian markets.
NHPC
The government sold up to 3.5 per cent though offer for sale (OFS) on 18-19 January. The floor price for the offer has been fixed at Rs 66 per share, which is at discount of 9.6 per cent to the current market price.
IIFL Finance
The company reported a 17.2 per cent year-on-year decline in standalone profit at Rs 131.65 crore for the quarter ended December 2024, partly impacted by an increase in net loss on fair value changes, net loss on derecognition of financial instruments, and impairment on financial instruments. Its revenue from operations increased 17.65 per cent YoY to Rs 1,158.7 crore in the reported quarter.
Adani Enterprises
The flagship company of Adani Group has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra Government for the establishment of a 1-gigawatt hyperscale data center. The project which indicates Adani’s significant venture into the data infrastructure sector is valued at Rs 50,000 crore. It is scheduled to be developed over next one decade.
Nazara Tech
The company announced plans to raise up to Rs 250 crore though a preferential issue of shares at Rs 872.15 per share. Additionally, the company has bought a 10.77 per cent stake in social influencer platform Kofluence Tech Pvt for Rs 32.41 crore.
