Sensex, Nifty fall below 17,850; Adani stocks drag

In the late morning trade on Wednesday, Indian equity benchmarks fell sharply after recording a rebound in the previous session. The BSE Sensex dropped 900 points to hit a day low of 60,081, while the NSE barometer Nifty touched the sub 17,850 level. The 30-pack Sensex was down 743 points or 1.22 per cent at 60,236 at 12: 08 pm. The NSE benchmark was down 224 points or 1.23 per cent at 17,895. Nearly 3.5 lakh crore of BSE market capitalisation m-cap was wiped out by the fall in domestic indexes. The domestic indexes fell as the month's end of derivatives and Union Budget presentation was due on February 1. Short-seller Hindenburg Research's report on Adani Group companies pulled the indices lower. Hindenburg Research said it holds short positions in Adani-led firms and flagged risks to the financials of key companies.

As suggested by the BSE m-cap, investor wealth fell to Rs 276.93 lakh crore compared to a valuation of Rs 280.39 lakh crore yesterday. HDFC Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, Reliance Industries, HDFC and L&T were the frontline stocks that contributed to the fall.

As many as 78 stocks hit their 52 week lows today. Biocon, Aurobindo Pharma, Balaji Amines, Biocon, Clean Science and Technology, Galaxy Surfactants, Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals, Vodafone Idea, Indigo Paints and 69 other stocks hit their one-year lows on their respective one-year lows. 92 stocks today touched their one-year highs.

Of 3,360 stocks, 2,396 stocks were seen declining. Only 827 stocks were moving while 130 stocks were unchanged.

Nippon India, Fone 4 Communications India Margo Finance, down to 10%.

Shares of Nippon India, Fone 4 Communications India Margo Finance, Sovereign Diamonds, Ambuja Cements and Stellar Capital Services fell by 10 per cent in late morning deals.

The index was dragged down by HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, HDFC, L&T, Axis Bank, ITC, TCS, IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, and UltraTech Cement, the main culprits that dragged the index down were HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, HDFC, L&T, Axis Bank, HDFC, TCS, IndusInd Bank and UltraTech Cement. HDFC Bank, SBI, ICICI Bank, and Reliance all contributed negatively to a 314-point decline.

All 15 sub-indices were down on the NSE.

Foreign institutional investors sold Rs 760.51 crore worth of equity on a net basis on Tuesday, while domestic investors bought about 1,144. The NSE data shows that 75 crore worth of shares are worth 75 crore.

Asian markets were seen trading positively today, on the global front. The Nikkei index rose 0.48 per cent, and South Korea's Kospi index was up 1.38 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng increased 1.82 per cent and China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.76 per cent. Wall Street equities ended up mostly lower over night with S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite logging losses.

On account of Republic Day, the domestic benchmarks would be closed tomorrow.