Market wrap: Sensex dips 1,024 pts on weak sentiment; Nifty holds 17,200

Top headlines
· Sensex dips 1,024 pts on downbeat sentiment; Nifty holds 17,200
· Nifty PSU Bank index outperforms benchmarks; SBI hits record high
· IndiGo soars 10% on strong rebound in Q3 bottom line
· DB Realty freezes at 5% upper circuit; board to mull fundraise
· Vedant Fashions IPO sees 20% subscription on day 2

The triple whammy of rising crude oil prices, sell-off by FIIs, and fears of liquidity crunch amid monetary policy tightening by global central banks hit Indian benchmark equity indices on Monday. The market saw high volatility a day before the RBI monetary policy committee begins deliberations over key policy rates in the face of rising inflation.

The frontline BSE Sensex shed over 1,300 points to touch its intra-day low before ending 1,024 points, or 1.75% lower, at 57,621. On the NSE, the Nifty50 index slipped below the 17,150 mark during the day but settled at 17,214, down 303 points or 1.73%.

L&T, down nearly 4%, was the top laggard on the Sensex. It was followed by HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Bank, Titan, and ICICI Bank.

Only 5 stocks ended higher on the 30-pack index, including Power Grid, Tata Steel, SBI, NTPC, and Ultratech Cement, while only 8 stocks were in the green in the Nifty-50 pack.

Meanwhile, in the broader markets, the MidCap and SmallCap indices on the BSE outperformed the headline indices and ended 1.3% and 0.8% lower, respectively.

Sectorally, all indices except the Nifty PSU Bank index closed in the red zone. The PSU index was an outlier, closing 0.9% higher after it hit an over two-year high earlier in the day. The upmove came after select banks reported a solid set of numbers for the December quarter.

SBI hit a record high today on reporting a 62% year-on-year rise in net profit, while Bank of Baroda gained 6% as its profit after tax doubled in the reporting quarter.

On the flip side, the Nifty Private Bank index closed over 2% lower, dragged by heavyweights HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. The Nifty Pharma, IT, Realty and Auto indices closed over 1% lower.

Among stocks, InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of airline IndiGo, surged nearly 10% after the company's bottom line slipped back into green after a series of losses in previous quarters. The airline posted a profit after tax of Rs 128 crore, against a loss of Rs 626 crore in the year-ago period, while its revenue also rose by a massive 89% year-on-year to Rs 9,294 crore.

Further, the shares of DB Realty were locked in the 5% upper circuit, bouncing 10% up from their intra-day low on the BSE. This came on the back of heavy volumes, despite Godrej Properties cancelling its plans to invest Rs 700 crore in the real estate company. Its board will meet on Wednesday, February 9, to consider a fundraising proposal.

Lastly, in the primary market, the IPO of Manyavar brand owner Vedant Fashions did not pick up pace even on the second day of subscriptions. As of 4 PM, the IPO had been subscribed only 20%, while the retail investor category was subscribed 31%. The Qualified Institutional Buyer and the Non-Institutional Investor categories were subscribed only 0.11 and 0.08 times, respectively.