Indian stock markets concluded a turbulent week with a steep selloff on Friday, May 9, as rising border tensions between India and Pakistan shook Dalal Street. While the Sensex fell 880 points and the Nifty lost 266 points, some stocks-including Yes Bank and defence sector giants-overcame the gloom and shot into the limelight.
Key Market Highlights
Indices in Red:
BSE Sensex settled at 79,454, down 1.1%, while Nifty50 closed at 24,008, also down 1.1%. This was the second day in a row the indices fell as war fears weighed on upbeat global signals and earnings.
Volatility Spikes:
India VIX, which is the index of volatility, jumped close to 3% to 21.63, indicating increased unease among traders. Market breadth was weak as more than 60% of NSE shares fell.
Gainers: Defying the Downtrend
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Yes Bank: Yes Bank was the showstopper, rising 9.8% to ₹20.05. The rally was prompted by reports of State Bank of India negotiating the sale of its holding in Yes Bank to Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, potentially leading to India's largest-ever banking M&A deal.
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Defence Stocks: With border tensions and news of drone and missile attacks, defence stocks were the top performers:
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Bharat Dynamics: Up 5.79%
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Bharat Forge: Up 4.72%
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Data Patterns: Up by about 4%
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Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders: Up 3.7%
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Paras Defence: Led the industry with a 7.5% intraday rise
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Bharat Electronics (BEL): Increased 2.93%
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The NIFTY INDIA DEFENCE index closed 3.04% higher, with 17 of the 18 constituents rising.
Analysts point to growing hopes of exports and India's recent successful military missions as major drivers, with the government aiming for doubling defence exports by 2029.
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Titan Company: Shares rose 4.4% to ₹3,510.80 following the company reporting a 13% YoY increase in consolidated net profit to ₹871 crore, surpassing market estimates.
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Union Bank of India: Increased 6.4% to ₹122.85, driven by a 50% increase in quarterly net profit and better asset quality.
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Larsen & Toubro (L&T): Rose 3.84% to ₹3,451 following the reported 25% YoY growth in quarterly profit.
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Tata Motors: Increased 3.83% to ₹708.50, driven by hope for its electric vehicle business.
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Zee Entertainment: Risen 4.3% to ₹115.85, backed by a whopping 1,305% rise in quarterly net profit.
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Losers: Suffer from the Selloff
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ICICI Bank: Dropped 3.16% to ₹1,388.70, the largest pull on the indices, in face of heavy institutional selling.
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Power Grid: Fallen 2.70% to ₹299.55.
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UltraTech Cement: Down 2.15% to ₹11,379.05.
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Bajaj Finance: Dropped 2.02% to ₹8,640.20.
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HDFC Bank: Lost 1.93% to ₹1,889.20.
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Hotel Stocks: Indian Hotels Company, EIH Ltd, Samhi Hotels, ITC Hotels, and Lemon Tree Hotels all declined up to 4%, with travel and hospitality sentiment turning sour due to war fears.
MCX:
While net profit soared by 54%, shares declined 5.45% to ₹5,672.30, as profit-taking commenced.
Mid- and Small-Caps:
NIFTY Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices also ended lower, with significant losers being Apollo Tyres (-3.61%), M&M Financial Services (-3.57%), and Sonata Software (-5.91%).
Broader Market Trends
The BSE-listed companies' market capitalization declined by ₹2.1 lakh crore to ₹416.40 lakh crore.
Though the selling prevailed, many companies showed strong earnings, such as Kalyan Jewellers, Biocon, and Dilip Buildcon, although that was marred by macro fears.
In Summary:
Friday's trade was ruled by geopolitical news with defence shares trending higher on hopes of exports and Yes Bank being in a buoyant mood after M&A talks. Still, the wider market was weak with investors remaining nervous amid increasing uncertainty.
Sources: Economic Times, The Hindu BusinessLine, Upstox
