SENSEX plunges over 600 points, NIFTY50 below 25,200; ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Infosys among top drags

The Indian equity benchmarks extended losses on Thursday, January 29, mirroring losses in other Asian markets after tech stocks cooled off and US Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates unchanged.

The SENSEX fell as much as 610 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday low of 25,162 dragged by losses in index heavyweights like ICICI Bank, Infosys, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank and Hindustan Unilever.

As of 9:57 am, the SENSEX was down 609 points at 81,735 and NIFTY50 index declined 170 points to 25,181.

Most of the Asian markets were trading lower following mixed closing of the US markets after the Federal Reserve voted 10-2 for holding the rates steady after three consecutive rate cuts in the previous year. Policymakers noted that economic activity has been expanding, and strong labour market conditions have prompted them to keep the rates steady. However, it noted that the inflation risks persist and will continue to monitor the incoming data.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.5%, China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.1%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.4% and Japan's Nikkei was trading on a flat note.

Back home, eleven of 15 major sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading lower led by the NIFTY IT index's over 1% decline. NIFTY Auto, FMCG, Pharma, Private Bank, Bank, Financial Services, Healthcare and Consumer Durables indices also fell between 025%-0.75%.

On the flipside, metal, oil & gas and state-run banking shares were witnessing buying interest.

Broader markets were trading mixed as NIFTY Midcap 100 index was unchanged while NIFTY Smallcap 100 index advanced 0.2%.

Among the individual shares, Garden Reach Shipbuilders shares rose as much as 5.12% to hit an intraday high of ₹2,648 after the defence company said its total income for the quarter under review stood at ₹1,958 crore against ₹1,343 crore logged in Q3 FY25, with a growth of 46% YoY.

Its revenue from operations increased to ₹1,896 crore in Q3 FY26 from ₹1,271 crore logged in Q3 FY25, registering a growth of 49% YoY.

Maruti Suzuki was top loser in the NIFTY50 index, the stock dropped for a second straight session after its December quarter earnings failed to enthuse investors. The stock fell 3% to ₹14,430.

SBI Life, Bharat Electronics, IndiGo, Asian Paints, Dr Reddy's Labs, Hindustan Unilever and Titan also fell between 1.8%-2.66%.

On the flipside, Larsen & Toubro was top gainer in the NIFTY50 index, the stock rose 2.4% to ₹3,885 after the country's largest construction company reported a 4.29% decline in its consolidated net profit at ₹3,926 crore for the quarter ending December 31 of the financial year 2025-26. The infrastructure major had seen a profit of ₹3,359 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.

ONGC, Hindalco, Tata Steel, NTPC, Power Grid, Coal India, Bajaj Auto and JSW Steel also rose between 0.6%-2.35%.

The overall market breadth was negative as 1,651 shares were declining while 1,088 were advancing on the NSE.