HDFC bank, RIL drag markets down: SENSEX dips 650 points, NIFTY50 falls below 24,500
The Indian stock market saw a sharp decline on Tuesday, December 17, as heavy selling in index heavyweights like HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries (RIL), and Bharti Airtel dragged the benchmark indices down by over 0.8%. By 11:20 AM, the S&P BSE SENSEX was down 663 points, or 0.81%, at 81,085.23, while the NIFTY50 index slid by 212 points, or 0.86%, to 24,456.15.
Out of the 50 constituents of the NIFTY50, only 8 stocks advanced, while 42 declined. Cipla, Tata Motors, Wipro, Adani Ports, and Tech Mahindra emerged as the top gainers. On the other hand, Shriram Finance, Grasim Industries, RIL, Bajaj Finserv, and Bharti Airtel were among the biggest losers.
In individual stock news, HDFC Bank’s shares fell by 1.3% after receiving a second warning letter from SEBI within a week. Gravita India’s shares surged by 5% after announcing plans to raise ₹750 crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP). Vedanta’s shares dropped by over 1% after the company declared an interim dividend of ₹8.5 per share for the fiscal year 2024-25.
In terms of broader market performance, the BSE MidCap index was up by 0.13%, and the BSE SmallCap index rose by 0.05%. The realty sector stood out, with the BSE Realty index rising by 1.24%.
Globally, US stocks showed mixed results, with the Dow Jones falling by 0.25%, while the S&P 500 rose by 0.38%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.24%. In Asia, stocks edged higher as traders anticipated central bank meetings, with the US Federal Reserve expected to cut rates and the Bank of Japan to maintain its current stance.
