Sensex sheds 498 pts, Nifty below 16,500; Infy slips 3.5%, Axis Bank 3%

CLOSING BELL: Equity markets settled near the low point of the day as investors chose to stay on the sidelines ahead of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy outcome on Wednesday

CLOSING BELL

Stock market highlights: Equity markets settled near the low point of the day as investors chose to stay on the sidelines ahead of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy outcome on Wednesday. All the sectoral indices closed in the negative zone with the Nifty IT index falling nearly 3 per cent, followed by the Nifty FMCG index (down 1.5 per cent).

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex fell 498 points, or 0.89 per cent, to end at 55,268, while the broader Nifty50 shut shop at 16,484, down 147 points or 0.88 per cent.

Infosys, HUL, Axis Bank tanked between 3 per cent and 3.5 per cent, while Dr Reddy's Labs, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Auto, Wipro, Divis Labs, Eicher Motors, and Tata Consumer Products, shed over 2 per cent each. On the upside, Bajaj twins, JSW Steel, Grasim, and Bharti Airtel were the top gainers.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices dropped over 1 per cent each.

Stocks of the day

Axis Bank: Shares of Axis Bank dropped 3.5 per cent to Rs 702 apiece on the BSE in Tuesday’s intra-day trade as investors booked profit in the counter post astounding June quarter (Q1FY23) results. Analysts described Axis’ Q1 earnings as “focused earnings delivery, post balance sheet strengthening phase”. READ MORE

Zomato: Shares of Zomato have tanked nearly 23 per cent in the last two trading sessions after the one-year freeze on all its pre-IPO (initial public offering) shareholding ended. Despite the concerns surrounding the profitability of the company, the acquisition of Blinkit which analysts feel will only lengthen its road to profitability and the sharp fall in its share price since listing, analysts at Jefferies suggest long-term investors 'buy' the stock and maintain a price target of Rs 100. READ MORE