Sensex drops 685 pts; IT shares tumbles

The headline equity indices traded with significant losses in the early-afternoon trade, tracking a massive sell-off in U.S. markets triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariff announcement, which heightened concerns about a potential recession. The Nifty traded below the 23,000 level. IT shares extended losses for the second consecutive trading session.

At 12:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tanked 684.71 points or 0.89% to 75,613.47. The Nifty 50 index dropped 259.95 points or 1.12% to 22,990.15.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slumped 2.75% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 2.98%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,003 shares rose and 2,748 shares fell. A total of 152 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The HSBC final India Services Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by S&P Global, fell to 58.5 last month from 59.0 in February but was higher than a preliminary estimate that showed a fall to 57.7. However, it remained comfortably ahead of the 50-mark separating contraction from growth.

The HSBC India Composite PMI, which included robust manufacturing growth, rose to a seven-month high of 59.5 in March from February's 58.8, reflecting stronger overall private sector growth. Manufacturing growth outpaced services, but both sectors saw moderating employment growth and business confidence.

Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC, said, "India recorded a 58.5 services PMI in March 2025, softening slightly from the month prior. Domestic and international demand remained fairly buoyant, despite being sequentially a tick lower than the month before. Meanwhile, job creation and charge inflation both cooled during March. Looking ahead, business sentiment remains generally positive, but intensifying competition presents a significant challenge to many survey participants."

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.79% to 13.71. The Nifty 24 April 2025 futures were trading at 23,045.90 at a premium of 55.75 points as compared with the spot at 22,990.15

The Nifty option chain for the 24 April 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 49.2 lakh contracts at the 23,500 strike price. Maximum put OI of 45.4 lakh contracts was seen at 23,500 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index dropped 3.07% to 33,691.20. The index tumbled 7.12% in two consecutive trading sessions.

Coforge (down 6.17%), Persistent Systems (down 6.02%), Mphasis (down 4.38%), LTIMindtree (down 4.27%), Wipro (down 3.41%), Tech Mahindra (down 3.01%), HCL Technologies (down 2.69%), Tata Consultancy Services (down 2.42%), Infosys (down 2.32%) and Oracle Financial Services Software (down 1.19%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bharat Global Developers hit a lower circuit of 5% after the company informed that Mohsin Shaikh has tendered his resignation from the position of chief executive officer (CEO) of the company, effective from 03 April 2025.

L&T Finance declined 1.16% after the firm announced that its retail disbursements for Q4 FY25 were Rs 14,870 crore, registering a degrowth of 1.16% compared to Rs 14,531 crore recorded in Q4 FY24.

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