SENSEX drops 516 points, NIFTY50 ends below 24,200; State Bank of India top loser

The Indian equity benchmarks fell for a second straight session on Friday, May 8, as investor sentiment turned cautious after crude oil prices moved above $100 per barrel while the country's largest lender State Bank of India's March quarter earnings failed to enthuse investors. The SENSEX fell as much as 698 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday low of 24,127.

The SENSEX ended 516 points lower at 77,328 and NIFTY50 index dropped 150 points to close at 24,176.

Asian markets closed lower after reports suggested that US military intercepted Iranian attacks on three Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz and “targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking US forces,” highlighting the fragility of the month-old ceasefire between the two countries, news agency AP reported.

Back home, State Bank of India was top loser in the NIFTY50 index, the stock closed nearly 7% lower at ₹1,018 after its fourth quarter earnings announcement failed to impress investors.

The country's largest lender reported a net profit of ₹19,684 crore in the fourth quarter for financial year 2025-26 (Q4FY26), marking an increase of 5.6% from ₹18,643 crore in the same period last year. The nominal rise in profit came despite sharply lower provisions from bad loans during the quarter. The bank's provisions declined by 21% to ₹3,140 crore compared with ₹3,964 crore in the year-ago period.

For financial year 2025-26, its net profit stood at ₹80,032 crores witnessing an annual growth of 12.88%.

SBI's net interest income (NII) or the difference between interest earned on loans and expended on deposits rose 4% to ₹44,380 crore at the end of March quarter from ₹42,617.84 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Coal India, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, ONGC, Ultratech Cement, Shriram Finance and Mahindra & Mahindra also fell between 1.16% and 2.07%.

On the flip side, Titan rose 5% after it reported a 35% jump in consolidated net profit at ₹1,179 crore for the fourth quarter of the current financial year (Q4 FY26) as compared to ₹871 crore in the same period last year.

The country's largest watch and jewellery retailer's total income also advanced 80% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹27,105 crore in the January-March period from ₹15,032 crore in the year-ago period.

Apollo Hospitals, Asian Paints, Tata Consumer Products, Adani Ports, Infosys, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra were top gainers in the NIFTY50 index.

10 of 15 major sector gauges compiled by the NSE ended lower led by the NIFTY PSU Bank index's 3% fall. NIFTY Financial Services, Bank, Private Bank, and Oil & Gas indices also declined between 0.5% and 1.66%.

On the other hand, NIFTY IT index gained 1.2% and NIFTY FMCG index rose 0.2%.

Broader markets closed on a mixed note as NIFTY Midcap 100 index declined 0.15% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index gained 0.22%.

The overall market breadth was negative as 1,783 shares ended lower while 1,501 ended higher.