FINAL TRADE: Nifty plunges 188 points to 18,068 amid sell-off in HDFC duo, weak global cues

Friday's session (May 5, 2023) belonged to the bears as the markets saw heavy selling during the trade. The MSCI's update on HDFC and HDFC Bank merger dented investor sentiment with both the heavyweights tanking nearly 6 per cent. The sell-off in these two stocks led to an over 1 per cent decline in benchmark indices, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty. At close, the 30-share index of BSE stood at 61,054.29, down 695 points, or 1.13 per cent while the NSE's Nifty ended at 18,067.75, down 188.05, or 1.03 per cent.

In its note to clients, MSCI said it will adjust the index weightage factor to 0.5 from the earlier expected 1.0 in the upcoming merger. MSCI's move could result in an outflow to the tune of Rs 1,200 crore in HDFC Bank against market expectations of buying to the tune of $300 crore (if the index adjustment factor was calculated at 1.0). Nifty Bank lost over 1,000 points or 2 per cent to 42,661.20. 

Commenting on Bank Nifty, Kunal Shah, Senior Technical & Derivatives Analyst at LKP Securities, said, "The Bank Nifty bears took over the control and the index fell by more than 2 per cent breaking the support of the 43,000-42,800 zone. The index, if sustained below 43,000, will witness further correction towards the 42,500-42,300 zone where the next demand area is visible. The upside resistance of 43,000 if taken out decisively will lead to further short covering toward 43,300 levels."

The Indian market was dragged down by heavy selling in HDFC twins on fears of post-merger fund outflow. In addition, the cues from global peers were lacklustre as the ECB raised rates by 25bps and signalled the need for further rate hikes. Wall Street has witnessed prolonged selling pressure due to apprehensions in the banking sector about the strength of regional banks, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.