Massive Selloff: Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services index shed over 2.5% as HDFC Bank tanks post Q3

Banking and financial stocks bled out on Wednesday with both the Nifty Bank index and the Nifty Financial Services index down over 2.5 percent each post HDFC Bank December quarter results, announced yesterday.

Overall the benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty also witnessed a sharp selloff. Tensions in the Middle East and dimming rate cut hopes by the US Fed also weakened the sentiment, especially after a sharp rally to record-high levels.

The benchmark Sensex tanked more than 1,100 points at open, while the Nifty began trading 395 points lower below 21,650.

“Market is likely to turn slightly weak in the near-term, getting impacted by some negative global and domestic cues. The global negativity will come from the rising bond yields in the US (the 10-year yield is at 4.04 %) responding to concerns that the sharp rate cuts expected from the Fed this year may not materialise. Now indications are that the Fed is unlikely to cut in March and the total cuts in 2024 may not be five or six that the market had partly discounted. This will be a drag on global equity markets. Domestically, even though the economy is doing well and corporate earnings are good, all these positives are in the price and the valuations are elevated warranting a correction,” said Dr V.K. Vijaykumar of Geojit Financial Services.

In the Nifty Bank index, most constituents were in the red with HDFC Bank craking the most, down 7 percent. Meanwhile, HDFC Bank’s US-listed shares fell 6.71 percent on the NYSE after the Q3 results.

HDFC Bank on Tuesday reported a 33 percent jump in its net profit at ₹16,372 crore in Q3 of FY24, as compared to ₹12,259 crore a year ago.

Its net interest income (NII) rose to ₹28,471 crore in Q3 of FY24 from ₹27,385 crore in the previous quarter. The core net interest margin was unchanged sequentially. It rose 3.4 percent on total assets and 3.6 percent on interest-earning ones year-on-year.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, and SBI also lost over a percent each. However, Punjab National Bank was the only stock in the green, up half a percent. Meanwhile, in the Nifty Financial Services index, Indian Energy Exchange, HDFC AMC, Bajaj Finserv, and SBI Life fell over half a percent each.