Nifty, Sensex slide on weak earnings; banks, refiners drag

By Reuters

  • 20 Jan 2020
Credit: Reuters

Indian shares fell from record highs on Monday, dragged down by financial companies after a clutch of disappointing earnings reports.

The NSE Nifty 50 Index dropped 1% to 12,224.55, while the S&P BSE Sensex index closed down 0.99% at 41,528.91, both marking their biggest drop in two weeks.

Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank fell 4.7%, recording their worst day in more than a year, after the private-sector lender missed expectations for quarterly profit and as its asset quality worsened. The stock was the biggest loser on both indexes.

Kotak's larger peer HDFC Bank Ltd fell 1.8% after reporting a rise in its bad loan ratio. IT major Tata Consultancy Services Ltd slipped 2.2% after a muted quarter.

Reliance Industries Ltd, India's biggest company by market value, was the biggest drag on the indexes, sliding 3.1% on its worst day since early September.

The conglomerate reported another record quarterly profit on Friday despite weakness in its refining business but did not give a time frame for closing its deal with Saudi Aramco.

Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd climbed 3.7% and was the top gainer. The National Stock Exchange of India said Power Grid would be added to the Nifty CPSE index, which tracks certain state-owned firms, from January 24.