SBI shares plunge 19% amid broad sell-off after early trends of Lok Sabha poll results

The SBI stock hit an intra-day low of ₹731.95 on Tuesday on the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), down 19.2% compared with its previous close of ₹905.65 apiece. However, the shares of SBI recovered early losses to trade at ₹791.8 apiece, down 12.5%, on the NSE at 1:47 pm.

SBI’s market capitalisation also took a hit of over ₹1 lakh crore in a single session. On Monday, SBI’s m-cap had crossed past the ₹8 lakh crore mark for the first time after the stock closed 9% higher as the exit polls predicted a thumping majority for the NDA.

However, on Tuesday, the SBI stock reversed all its gains after the NDA’s lead seemed to be limited to fewer than 300 of the total 543 Lok Sabha seats by afternoon.

SBI’s market capitalisation fell to ₹7.06 lakh crore on Tuesday after the stock witnessed the biggest drop in share price since October 2008.

Benchmark stock indices the Nifty and the Sensex also plunged over 6% after the INDIA block posted a better-than-expected performance in the Lok Sabha elections.

At around 1:30 pm, the Sensex was trading at 72,335.24, down 5.4% after hitting the day’s low of 70,234.43. The Nifty, meanwhile, was trading at 21,966.60, down 5.6%. It had touched an intra-day low of 21,281.45 on Tuesday.

Year-to-date, SBI shares are still up 23%. Last month, the stock had soared after the bank surpassed analyst estimates by clocking 24% year-on-year growth in its Q4 net profit to ₹20,698 crore. Its net interest income had risen 3% YoY to ₹41,656 crore.

The bank's asset quality had also improved, with the gross non-performing asset (NPA) ratio declining by 54 basis points year-on-year to 2.24%. The lender’s board had also recommended a dividend of ₹13.7 per share.