SENSEX drops over 800 points, NIFTY50 below 24,000; Infosys falls after Q4 earnings

The Indian equity benchmarks moved sharply lower on Friday, April 24, mirroring losses in other Asian markets as investor sentiment remained cautious tracking a surge in crude oil prices in international markets. The SENSEX fell as much as 835 points and NIFTY50 index below 24,000 dragged down by losses in Infosys after its March quarter earnings disappointed market participants.

As of 9:58 am, the SENSEX was down 800 points at 76,864 and NIFTY50 index declined 218 points to 23,955.

Asian markets were trading lower after crude oil prices remained above $105 per barrel in international markets despite US President Donald Trump saying that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House on Thursday.

The meeting was the second high-level negotiation between the two countries since last week. The initial 10-day ceasefire, which took effect last Friday, had been due to expire Monday.

China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.5%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.6%, South Korea's KOSPI dropped 0.24% while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.4%.

Overnight, US stocks ended lower on Thursday on account of profit booking after S&P 500 touched a record high during the session. Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.36%, S&P 500 index declined 0.41% and tech heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.9%.

Back home, Infosys was top loser in the NIFTY50 index and was the biggest drag on the SENSEX after its March quarter earnings disappointed market participants.

Shares of the country's second largest IT company fell as much as 3.35% to hit a fresh 52-week low of ₹1,199 on the NSE after it reported a net profit of ₹8,501 crore in the January-March quarter, marking an increase of 21% from ₹7,033 crore in the same period last year. On a sequential basis, the company's profit jumped 28% from ₹6,654 crore in the previous quarter.

The Bengaluru-based company's revenue from operations in the fourth quarter of financial year 2025-26 advanced 13% to ₹46,402 crore from ₹40,925 crore in the year-ago period. In constant currency terms, Infosys' revenue grew 4.1% year on year (YoY) and 1.3% quarter on quarter (QoQ).

The stock was biggest drag on the SENSEX, alone contributing 136 points towards fall in the SENSEX.

Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Sun Pharma, Eternal and Adani Enterprises also fell between 1.7% and 2.3%.

On the flip side, Coal India, Tata Consumer Products, Max Healthcare, Nestle India, ONGC and Grasim were among notable gainers in the NIFTY50 basket of shares.

Selling pressure was broad based as all the major sector gauges compiled by the NSE were trading lower led by the NIFTY IT index's 3% fall. NIFTY Media, Metal, Pharma, PSU Bank, Private Bank, Oil & Gas, Bank and Financial Services indices also dropped between 0.6% and 1.4%.

Broader markets were also facing selling pressure as NIFTY Midcap 100 index dropped 0.6% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index plunged nearly 1%.

The overall market breadth was extremely negative as 2,222 shares were declining while 639 were advancing on the NSE.