Nifty ends flat as broader market sees sharp sell-off; Sensex falls 36 pts

Ratings downgrade of Anil Ambani group firms, YES Bank’s surprise March quarter loss, and fears of liquidity tightening and more defaults by housing finance companies all led to panic among investors

The Benchmark indices ended little changed but the broader markets witnessed sharp sell-offs on Tuesday, amid investor aversion to financial stocks.

Ratings downgrade of Anil Ambani group firms, YES Bank’s surprise March quarter loss, and fears of liquidity tightening and more defaults by housing finance companies all led to panic among investors

The Nifty fell 6 points to end at 11,748 but the Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 0.91 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index declined 1.5 per cent. The Sensex ended 36 points, or 0.1 per cent lower at 39,032, after dropping as much as 314 points.

Market experts said the retreat in oil prices partly managed to offset negative sentiment. Brent crude traded at $72.7 per barrel, down $2 from from last week’s high of $74.7. “A fresh round of panic has gripped banks and finance company stocks. Participants are wondering the trickle-down effect on other finance firms, equity markets, debt mutual funds and general liquidity available in the markets,” said Deepak Jasani, head (retail research), HDFC Securities.

Shares of YES Bank ended 29.2 per cent down, their worst fall since September 21, 2018, after it reported a loss of Rs 1,507 crore for the quarter ended March 31.

The Street was expecting the bank to report net profit of Rs 1,070 crore. Most banking stocks ended with losses, with the Nifty Private Bank index declining 1.5 per cent and the Nifty Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) Bank index dropping 3.34 per cent.

Shares of housing finance firms fell sharply, with PNB Housing declining 8.8 per cent and Indiabulls Housing Finance and DHFL each slipping over 5.6 per cent.

The market saw a lot of stock specific action. Shares of 63 Moons Technologies hit 10 per cent upper limit after Supreme Court set aside its merger with National Spot Exchange.

Shares of Wadia group firms fell on reports that heir Ness Wadia was sentenced to a 2-year jail term in Japan for possession of drugs.