Axis Bank stock slump, BFSI shares, FII selloff: Here is why Sensex lost 630 points on Friday; Nifty down 180 points

The rout in Axis Bank continued in the early hours of Friday trade as the Sensex constituent slid 6.36 per cent to as low as ₹1086 apiece, after the lender posted a 3 per cent dip in quarterly net profit the day before.

Axis Bank, India’s third-largest private lender, saw its policy changes spiral into an increase in bad assets, leading to Q1 net profit slipping 3 per cent to ₹6,243.72 crore. Standalone net profit slumped 3.77 per cent to ₹5,806 crore.

While the lender’s core net interest income improved by 1 per cent to ₹13,560 crore as net interest margin dipped to 3.80 per cent (vs 4.05 per cent a year ago), it did not instill confidence in investors.

The Axis Bank slump, paired with foreign fund outflows, led to the Sensex and Nifty slumping early on in Friday trade. Banking stocks, en masse, became cautious investments after lower-than-expected Axis Bank results.

At their lowest, the 30-pack Sensex shed more than 630 points while the NSE Nifty dropped over 186 points.

After Axis Bank, Kotak Bank became the biggest loser, followed by Airtel, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, BEL, and HDFC Bank.

After a good show earlier in the week, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned sellers, offloading ₹3,694.31 crore worth of equities on Thursday. The day ended with the Sensex settling 375 points lower and the Nifty closing 100 points down.

 

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