SENSEX falls over 500 pts, NIFTY50 trades below 22,400; Meesho, Poonawalla Fincorp, DMart among buzzing stocks

The Indian benchmark indices, SENSEX and NIFTY50, were trading in negative territory during the afternoon session on Monday, October 12, amid a sell-off in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and banking stocks.

The market declined amid a persistent outflow of foreign investment, increased volatility and the latest measures from the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI).

The SENSEX tanked as much as 0.86% to hit an intraday low of 71,848.10. Meanwhile, the NIFTY50 tumbled as much 0.75% to touch the session’s low of 22,352.35.

At 1:20 PM, the S&P BSE SENSEX fell by 552.60 points, or 0.76%, to stand at 71,919.73, while NSE’s NIFTY50 was trading at 22,372.80, marking a 147.65-point, or 0.66%, decline.

Naresh Biyani Founder & CEO of Capwise Financial Services Pvt Ltd, said: "For equities, I don't expect a sharp sell-off, but the easy money phase is behind us. Since early 2025, a good part of the rally was supported by the expectation of lower rates. That support is now gone, and stock prices will have to be backed by earnings."

Biyani further stated that mid and small caps, where valuations had run ahead of fundamentals, will feel this the most, adding that large caps with steady cash flows should hold up better.

"One positive is that a central bank willing to act early helps the rupee, and for foreign investors, currency stability matters more right now than another 25 bps," he added.

On Friday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹3,568.90 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth ₹4,743.26 crore on a net basis, according to exchange data.

Furthermore, India VIX, the volatility gauge, surged as much as 8.1% to hit its intraday high level of 15.54.

The top losers in the index included Tech Mahindra, ITC Ltd, Coal India, State Bank of India, and Bharti Airtel.

On the flip side, Bajaj Auto, Dr. Reddy’s Pharmaceuticals, Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), BSE and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) were among the top gainers.

Buzzing stocks on October 12: Check list

Shares of steel producers, iron ore miners, steel-processing companies and infrastructure-related stocks were trading mixed on Monday, October 12, as the government has released a draft National Steel Policy Vision 2047, aiming for 604 million tonnes of crude steel production, 302 kg of per capita consumption, and 45 MT of steel exports.

As per the draft policy brought for stakeholder consultation, the aim is also to increase raw-material security, such as iron ore and coking coal, reduce imports, and increase the share of high-end steel in the country's overall steel output.

The government has proposed a new policy, even as the current National Steel Policy 2017 aims for 300 MT steel capacity by 2030, 160 kg per capita consumption, and ensuring raw material availability, among other goals.

RBI announced that banks will now need to maintain 99% of the required cash reserve ratio (CRR) every day effective from October 16, 2026, in an effort to further contain the liquidity scenario in the banking system.

The latest increase in CRR for banks to the 99% level comes from the current required level of 90%. The cash reserve ratio is the percentage of reserves that banks need to keep in cash with the central bank to ensure stability while maintaining a failsafe in case of immediate liquidity needs.

Shares of Avenue Supermarts, the parent company of DMart, declined as much as 4.43% to hit an intraday low of ₹3,361.10 per unit on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday, October 12, despite reporting strong earnings for the September quarter of the 2026-27 fiscal year (Q2 FY27).

The company posted an 8.5% year-on-year (YoY) surge in its consolidated net profit to ₹743.57 crore during the quarter under review, compared with ₹685.01 crore in the second quarter of the 2025-26 fiscal year (Q2 FY26).

Its revenue from operations jumped 17.8% YoY to ₹19,644.01 crore in Q2 FY27, as against ₹16,676.30 crore in the same period last year, according to a regulatory filing.

However, cracks open at a lower level as you see contracting operating margins, increasing inventory, and declining return on net worth.

The stock of Poonawalla Fincorp advanced as much as 8.2% to hit an intraday high of ₹484 per equity share on Monday, after the non-banking financial company (NBFC) reported healthy Q2 earnings performance for FY27 and overall asset quality improvement in the period.

NSE filings showed that Poonawalla Fincorp’s standalone net profits increased nearly 22% quarter-on-quarter to ₹374.85 crore in the Q2 results for FY27, in comparison to ₹307.71 crore in the same period a year earlier.

The company’s overall revenues from core operations increased 10% sequentially to ₹2,124 crore in the September quarter, compared with ₹1,926 crore in the previous quarter of the fiscal year.

Meesho shares climbed as much as 5.48% to ₹245.50 apiece on the NSE after the e-commerce platform reported strong demand on the opening day of its festive sale.

In a press release dated October 10, the company said orders during the first day of the Meesho Mega Blockbuster Sale 2026 grew around 75% YoY, signalling a strong start to the festive shopping season.

Meesho said orders peaked at over 75,000 per minute within 15 minutes of the sale going live. The number of transacting customers also rose around 60% YoY, with demand spanning categories such as fashion, home and kitchen, beauty and personal care, kids’ products, and electronic accessories.

The stock of Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company (LIC) rose as much as 3.5% to touch the session’s peak of ₹144.05 per unit, before it pared its early gains to trade in the red zone.

This comes as the life insurer reported strong earnings for the second quarter of the 2026-27 financial year (Q2 FY27) after market hours on Friday. The company’s board of directors also approved raising funds up to ₹287.50 crore via the issuance of non-convertible debentures (NCDs).

The company saw its net profit jump by 5.5% YoY to ₹43.05 crore during the quarter under review, compared with ₹40.81 crore in the July-September quarter of FY26.

Its net premium income stood at ₹2,511 crore in the second quarter of FY27, reflecting a 6.9% YoY increase from ₹2,349.34 crore in the same period last year, according to a regulatory filing.

Shares of Emcure Pharmaceuticals gained as much as 3.4% to hit an intraday high of ₹1,896.50 per unit on October 12, as the company’s board of directors approved the amalgamation of two of its wholly owned subsidiaries, Zuventus Healthcare Limited and Emcutix Biopharmaceuticals Limited, with Emcure Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

“Board of Directors at its meeting held on Monday, October 12, 2026 has inter alia, approved the draft Composite Scheme of Amalgamation amongst Zuventus Healthcare Limited and Emcutix Biopharmaceuticals Limited (collectively referred to as the “Transferor Companies") both being wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company with Emcure Pharmaceuticals Limited (hereinafter referred to as the “Company” or “Transferee Company”) and their respective shareholders and creditors pursuant to Sections 230 to 232 and other applicable provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 (“Scheme”),” it said in a regulatory filing.

The Scheme, the company said, is subject to necessary statutory and regulatory approvals under applicable laws, including the approval of the National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai Bench.

Anand Rathi Wealth stock jumped as much as 2.35% to reach the session’s peak of ₹2,086.70 per equity share, despite reporting a 10.65% YoY fall in its consolidated net profit to ₹88.26 crore in Q2 FY27, from ₹99.9 crore in the year-ago period.

However, its revenue from operations rose 15.7% YoY to ₹343.99 crore during the quarter under review, compared with ₹297.37 crore in the September quarter of FY26.

Furthermore, its board of directors declared an interim dividend of ₹4 per share, at 80% of its face value of ₹5 each for FY27.

“The Dividend payment thereof shall be credited/dispatched within 30 days from the date of declaration as per applicable provisions of the Companies Act, 2013, to such shareholders as on Record Date i.e., 15th October, 2026,” it stated.

According to the report, the proposed transaction involves the sale of up to a 1.6% stake, valued at around ₹966 crore, with an additional option to sell another 0.7% stake worth ₹725 crore. The report put the total potential deal size at ₹1,691 crore, with a floor price of ₹640 per share.

No official confirmation regarding the reported block deal was available from the company at the time of writing this report.

The stock of Puravankara surged as much as 3.2% to hit an intraday high of ₹213.90 per equity share as it signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) for a 12.76-acre land parcel in Sathanur, Bengaluru, with an estimated Gross Development Value (GDV) of ₹2,500 crore.

According to a regulatory filing, the proposed development, with a saleable area of approximately 1.90 million square feet (msft), will strengthen the company’s residential development pipeline in Bengaluru and “reinforce its focus on high-potential micro-markets and strategic land additions”.

Shares of imitation jewellery manufacturer RK Fashion Accessories debuted at ₹80 apiece on the Emerge platform of the NSE on Monday, October 12. This reflects a discount of 2.44% from the IPO issue price of ₹82 per share.

A lot consists of 1,600 shares. The minimum investment for an individual investor was two lots and cost ₹2,62,400. Investors who received the RK Fashion Accessories IPO allotment lost ₹6,400 per lot, taking the value of their investment to ₹2,56,000, as per the listing price on NSE SME.

The ₹34.99 crore initial share sale was solely a fresh issuance of 42.67 lakh shares, with no offer for sale (OFS) component.