The agitation on Dalal Street for the last two weeks came to an end on October 23. The benchmark Sensex ended the trading session down 125.56 points or 0.17 percent at 73,123.83. The Nifty closed down 87.65 points or 0.39 percent at 22,600.00. Nifty also remained at 22,500 level during the trade. The selling pressure in the market was so high that a total of 3,275 shares closed in losses. In comparison, only 797 stocks saw an increase, while 114 stocks remained unchanged.

Heavy pressure in banking sector from midcap

Midcap stocks played the biggest role in pulling the market down. The midcap index fell more than 2 percent due to sharp selling in the broader market. The Nifty midcap index was down 2.6 percent, while the smallcap index was down 3 percent. The poor performance of midcap stocks marred the overall market trend. The situation on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was such that for every rising stock, six stocks closed lower.

Investors have not got any relief on the sectoral front either. All sectoral market indices closed with losses. Along with realty, the consumer durable index also fell by 3-3 percent. Apart from this, Energy, Metal and PSU Bank indices closed down by 2 percent each. The Nifty Bank Index fell 638 points to 54,287 due to weakness in banking stocks. Shriram Finance was the top falling stock in the Nifty during this period. The company’s shares fell 4 percent due to poor asset quality.

Swiggy’s shares fall sharply

Quarterly results of companies had a heavy impact on many stocks. Shares of SBI Card fell 3.6 percent after the second quarter results came out. At the same time, it was a very bad day for Swiggy investors as well. Swiggy’s shares fell 17 percent. This is the biggest one-day drop in the company’s stock. The main reason for the sale was the company’s ‘quick-commerce’ business not performing as expected. Similarly, shares of Colgate also fell another 5 percent, following worse-than-expected results.

Selling Metal in AI Stocks

Metal sector shares were also under selling pressure throughout the day. Even good quarterly results could not save the stock from falling. Despite good results in the second quarter, shares of JSW Steel fell 3 percent. On the other hand, a sell-off in artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks weighed on the capital goods sector. The sale sent ABB shares down 5 percent. While the share of CG Power closed with a slight loss.

These big stocks of Nifty also lost

Shares of many large companies were involved in this market decline. Besides Shriram Finance, Adani Ports, Adani Enterprises, Tata Steel and Jio Financial were among the top losers on the Nifty. Apart from this, major stocks like Apollo Hospitals, Infosys, TCS and Maruti Suzuki also declined. This all-out sell-off in small and large stocks completely halted the market’s two-week rally.