Indian stocks declined Monday as private lenders trailed public banks, with The Economic Times reporting the Sensex down more than 400 points and the Nifty 50 below 23,100 in a morning snapshot.
At 1:10 a.m. ET (05:10 UTC) on Oct. 19, the outlet put the Sensex at 74,322. Axis Bank shares had fallen about 4% and HDFC Bank about 1%, while State Bank of India and UltraTech Cement each gained about 2%. The Nifty PSU Bank index rose about 3%, while the Nifty Private Bank index fell more than 1%.
The Economic Times said the Nifty had gained 2.8% over the previous week, its largest weekly increase in six months. The outlet attributed that advance to strength in IT shares after quarterly results and buying during a global retreat in AI-related markets. The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) listed the Nifty 50 at 23,146.15 at the Oct. 16 close, up 0.65% that day.
The Economic Times linked Monday’s decline to private-bank weakness as traders assessed quarterly earnings. HDFC Bank’s board approved its unaudited results on Oct. 17. For the quarter ended Sept. 30, the bank reported standalone net profit of ₹19,609.96 crore, compared with ₹18,641.28 crore a year earlier. ICICI Bank reported standalone profit after tax of ₹14,843 crore, up 20.1% year over year. Its net interest margin was 4.18%, down from 4.36% in the previous quarter and 4.30% a year earlier.
V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, told The Economic Times that Strait of Hormuz tensions and crude prices near $109 a barrel could weigh on the market. He said, “The market actions this week are likely to be stock-specific in response to the Q2 results.” Moneycontrol cited Brent crude at $108.27 a barrel, down 1.5%, and West Texas Intermediate at $100.83, down 0.6%, in a report published at 1:37 a.m. ET (05:37 UTC).
Hemang Gor of Axis Direct said 23,000 was a key threshold for the Nifty, placing support at 22,950 and resistance at 23,300. The Economic Times reported that he expected sideways trading and larger intraday swings around Monday’s weekly expiry settlement.
