Sensex tanks 501 pts, Nifty closes below 25k on selling in bank stocks, foreign fund outflows
Mumbai, Jul 18 (PTI): Benchmark Sensex tanked 501 points while Nifty closed below the 25,000 mark on Friday due to selling in banking shares after muted quarterly earnings and foreign fund outflows.
Falling for the second straight day, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 501.51 points or 0.61 per cent to settle at 81,757.73. During the day, it shed 651.11 points or 0.79 per cent to hit a low of 81,608.13.
The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 143.05 points or 0.57 per cent to close at a month's low of 24,968.40.
Analysts said investors turned cautious over banking stocks in response to Axis Bank's latest financial results, which fell short of market expectations.
Among Sensex firms, Axis Bank tumbled the most by 5.24 per cent after it reported a 3 per cent dip in its June quarter consolidated net profit at Rs 6,243.72 crore, impacted by the implementation of changes in non-performing assets and loan upgrade policy.
Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research, HDFC Securities, said Axis Bank's latest financial results fell short of market expectations.
"Notably, Axis Bank's GDR tumbled 4.8 per cent to USD 64.30 on Thursday, following a deterioration in the bank's asset quality during the June quarter," he said.
Among blue-chip bank stocks, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and State Bank of India ended lower.
Following the decline in bank stocks, the BSE Bankex ended 1.33 per cent lower at 62,741.65.
Bharat Electronics, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan and Eternal were also among the laggards from the Sensex pack.
However, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, HCL Tech and Infosys were among the gainers.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,694.31 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
"A broad-based sell-off was observed amidst a disappointing initial set of earnings from the finance and IT sectors. Elevated valuations in large-cap stocks, coupled with significant net short positions held by FIIs, have contributed to a cautious sentiment among investors," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
"Additional tariff threats are also casting a shadow on India over its trade relationship with Russia. Despite these pressures, the medium-to-long-term outlook for India remains optimistic, supported by low inflation levels and proactive monetary authority committed to sustaining economic growth," Nair added.
The BSE smallcap gauge declined 0.64 per cent and midcap index dipped 0.62 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, capital goods dropped 1.50 per cent, followed by bankex (1.33 per cent), industrials (1.08 per cent), telecommunication (0.99 per cent), power (0.90 per cent) and consumer durables (0.90 per cent).
Metal, services and BSE Focused IT ended higher.
On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark tumbled 742.74 points or 0.90 per cent, and the Nifty declined by 181.45 points or 0.72 per cent.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 index settled lower, while Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended in positive territory.
European markets were trading with gains. The US markets ended higher on Thursday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.92 per cent to USD 70.16 a barrel.
On Thursday, the Sensex dropped 375.24 points or 0.45 per cent to settle at 82,259.24. The Nifty ended lower by 100.60 points or 0.40 per cent to 25,111.45.
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Jai Bhim: Slogan that energised Dalits was first given at this central Maharashtra village
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (PTI): 'Jai Bhim': These two words have come to symbolise the awakening and empowerment of the Dalit community in independent India, but not many people know how it originated.
The slogan, which also encapsulates the immense reverence in which Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is held, was first raised at the Makranpur Parishad, a conference organised at Makranpur village in Kannad teshil of today's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in Maharashtra.
Ambedkar, the chief architect of India's Constitution, died on December 6, 1956.
Bhausaheb More, the first president of the Scheduled Castes Federation of Marathwada, organised the first Makranpur Parishad on December 30, 1938.
Dr Ambedkar spoke at the conference and asked the people not to support the princely state of Hyderabad under which much of central Maharashtra then fell, said Assistant Commissioner of Police Pravin More, Bhausaheb's son.
"When Bhausaheb stood up to speak, he said every community has its own deity and they greet each other using the name of that deity. Dr Ambedkar showed us the path of progress, and he is like God to us. So henceforth, we should say 'Jai Bhim' while meeting each other. The people responded enthusiastically. A resolution accepting 'Jai Bhim' as the community's slogan was also passed," More told PTI.
"My father came in contact with Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in his early years. Bhausaheb was aware of the atrocities the Nizam state committed on Dalits. He told Ambedkar about these atrocities, including the pressure to convert. Dr Ambedkar was strongly against these atrocities, and he decided to attend the 1938 conference," he said.
As Ambedkar was against the princely states, he was banned from giving speeches in the Hyderabad state but was allowed to travel through its territories. The Shivna river formed the border between Hyderabad and British India. Makranpur was chosen as the venue for the first conference because it was on the banks of Shivna but lay in the British territory, ACP More said.
The stage made of bricks, from where Dr Ambedkar addressed the conference, still stands. The conference is organised on December 30 every year to carry forward Ambedkar's thought, and the tradition was not discontinued even in 1972 when Maharashtra experienced one of the worst droughts in it history.
"My grandmother pledged her jewellery for the conference expenses. People from Khandesh, Vidarbha and Marathwada attended it. Despite a ban imposed by the Nizam's police, Ambedkar's followers crossed the river to attend the event," said ACP More.
"This is the 87th year of Makranpur Parishad. We have deliberately retained the venue as it helps spread Ambedkar's thought in rural areas," he added.
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