Sensex Drops Over 400 Points, Nifty Below 13,000 As Banking Shares Drag

The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes extended declines in afternoon deals, led by losses in HDFC Bank, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys and Reliance Industries. The Sensex fell as much as 455 points and Nifty 50 index slipped below its important psychological level of 13,000 as investors were seen booking profits at higher levels, analysts said. The Sensex and Nifty had gained more than 1 per cent on Tuesday, after a sharp rally in November on record inflows from foreign institutional investors and hopes for a coronavirus vaccine.

As of 2:13 pm, the Sensex fell 421 points to 44,233 and Nifty 50 index dropped 110 points to 12,999.

Eight of 11 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading lower, led by the Nifty Bank index's nearly 2 per cent fall. The Nifty Financial Services, PSU Bank, Private Bank and IT indexes also fell 0.5-1.7 per cent each.

On the other hand, metal and real estate shares were witnessing strong buying interest in an otherwise weak session.

Mid- and small-cap shares were also facing a mild selling pressure as Nifty Midcap 100 index declined 0.2 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index fell 0.45 per cent.

Kotak Mahindra Bank was top Nifty loser; the stock fell 3.2 per cent to Rs 1,816. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Shree Cements, HDFC, HDFC Life, Britannia Industries, Bajaj Finance, Nestle India, Infosys and State Bank of India were also among the losers.

On the flip side, GAIL India, ONGC, Adani Ports, Asian Paints, Indian Oil, Titan, Bajaj Auto and Tata Steel were among the gainers.

The overall market breadth turned neutral as 1,422 shares were advancing and 1,379 were advancing on the BSE.