SENSEX, NIFTY50 erase early gains; Tata Motors, HDFC Bank surge, Infosys falls

The Indian equity benchmarks erased early gains and edged lower on Wednesday, March 12, as losses in information technology heavyweights like Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and HCL Technologies outpaced gains in Tata Motors, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank. The SENSEX fell as much as 394 points from the day's highest level and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday low of 22,496 after hitting an intraday high of 22,577.

As of 9:32 am, the SENSEX was down 58 points at 74,044 and NIFTY50 index declined 27 points to 22,471.

Asian markets

Most of the Asian markets were trading with a negative bias on renewed tensions about global trade. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced surge in tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium imports to 50%, only to retract the decision hours later, reinstating the original 25% tariff, news agency Reuters reported.

Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.01%, China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.14%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.72%, Australia's ASX200 fell 1.8% while South Korea's KOSPI rose 1.4%.

Gainers and losers

Infosys was the top loser and drag on SENSEX and NIFTY50 indices as the stock dropped nearly 4% to hit an intraday low of ₹1,598 after global investment bank Morgan Stanley cited concerns over the company's growth outlook. “We see downside risks emerging for both the revenue growth of Indian IT services and valuation multiples,” wrote Morgan Stanley analyst Gaurav Rateria in an investor note.

According to news reports, analysts note that the company’s growth may be compromised due to weaker deal wins in fiscal year 2025 compared to the previous year.

Wipro, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Dr Reddy's Labs and Axis Bank were also among the losers, falling between 1-3.5%.

On the flipside, IndusInd Bank emerged as the top gainer in the NIFTY50 basket after plunging the most since listing in the previous session. The stock rose nearly 4% to ₹681. Tata Motors, Bharat Petroleum, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Adani Ports, Trent, HDFC Bank and NTPC also rose between 1-34%.

Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel edged higher after both the companies announced that they have partnered with Elon Musk-backed Starlink to provide high speed internet in the country.

Broader market

Broader markets were outperforming their larger peers as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.09% and Nifty Smallcap 100 index advanced 0.50%.

Sectoral picture

Buying was visible across sectors as nine out of 13 major sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading higher led by the Nifty Oil & Gas index's over 1% gain. Nifty Bank, Auto, Financial Services, Metal, PSU Bank and Private Bank indices also rose between 0.45-0.8%.

On the other hand, Nifty IT index dropped over 2% following weakness in IT heavyweights. Nifty FMCG, Media and Healthcare indices were also trading with a negative bias.