NIFTY, SENSEX down over 2% in noon deals; HDFC Bank, TTK Prestige and Patel Engineering among buzzing stocks

Benchmark indices NIFTY and SENSEX slipped over 2% on Thursday, March 19, due to a sharp increase in crude oil prices and weak global trends amid the US-Israel-Iran war.

SENSEX plunged 1,682 points, or 2.19%, to 75,022.59, while NIFTY fell 2.20% to 23,255 at 12:40 pm.

From the NIFTY firms, Shriram Finance, Eternal, L&T, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors PV, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, Grasim Industries, Maruti Suzuki and InterGlobe Aviation, among others, were major laggards.

ONGC and Coal India were the only gainers.

HDFC Bank

"Certain happenings and practices within the bank, that I have observed over the last two years, are not in congruence with my personal values and ethics. This is the basis of my aforementioned decision," he said in his resignation letter dated March 17.

In a letter addressed to H.K. Bhanwala, the chairman of Governance, Nomination, Remuneration Committee, Chakraborty said, "There are no other material reasons for my resignation other than those stated above."

Meanwhile, the bank, after RBI's approval, appointed Keki Mistry as an interim part-time chairman with effect from March 19 for a period of three months.

TTK Prestige, Stove Kraft

Iran's South Pars field came under attack on Wednesday. In response, Iran said that it would be targeting oil and gas infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

TTK Prestige stock climbed as much as 5.29% to ₹503 per share, while the scrip of Stove Kraft recorded an intraday high of 6.65% at ₹526 apiece.

Shree Ram Twistex

The stock had made its market debut at ₹68 per unit, a discount of 34.62% against the IPO issue price of ₹104 per share, on the NSE on March 2.

The initial public offering aimed to raise ₹110.24 crore via solely a fresh issuance of 1.06 crore shares.

Real estate stocks

NIFTY Realty is down 3% on Thursday as the second-order effects of the Middle East war are starting to show up.

Natural gas and propane are key components for manufacturing tiles, which is required in real estate. Rising crude oil prices will also impact paint rates.

Patel Engineering

Shares of the infrastructure company rose 1.84% to ₹25.49 per share as it received the Letter of Award from Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation for the Renuka Ji Dam Project (Package-1). The order is valued at ₹910.08 crore.

Under this package, the company will construct three major diversion tunnels, each designed with a diameter of 9.5 metres and extending over lengths ranging from 1.3 to 1.6 kilometres.

Commenting on the development, Kavita Shirvairkar, Managing Director, Patel Engineering, said, "It is both an opportunity and a responsibility – to transform vision into reality, strengthen India’s water security, and support renewable energy development. We are committed to executing this project on schedule with the highest standards of quality, safety, and innovation, while creating lasting value for communities and contributing meaningfully to the nation’s growth story."