Sensex Extends Slide, Dips 500 Pts, Nifty Below 18K; IT, PSBs Weak

Equity markets extended slide in morning deals on Tuesday as stock-specific action, amid December quarter results, and mixed global trends swayed sentiment.

The S&P BSE Sensex was at 60,318 levels as it fell over 400 points, while the Nifty50 was hovering around 17,990 levels, down 100 points. Both the benchmarks were trading 0.7 per cent lower.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices declined up to 0.4 per cent.

Sectorally, the Nifty IT index fell over 1 per cent, followed by the Nifty PSU Bank index (down 0.9 per cent). On the upside, the Nifty Metal index gained 0.8 per cent, while the Nifty Auto added 0.6 per cent.

Among individual stocks, shares of TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) dropped over 2 per cent on mixed December quarter results. TCS reported 11 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in net profit, and revenue for the quarter came in at Rs 58,229 crore, up 19.1 per cent YoY in reported terms and 13.5 per cent YoY in constant currency terms.

That apart, Tata Motors’ shares surged 5 per cent. The retail sales of automaker Jaguar Land Rover rose 5.9 per cent YoY in Q3FY23 reflecting a “gradual improvement in chip supplies”. CLSA has upgraded the stock to ‘buy’.