Market Wrap, Sept 30: Sensex slips 155 pts; Indiabulls Hsg Fin tumbles 34%

Equity benchmark indices ended Monday's session in the negative territory, owing to heavy selling in banking, pharma and realty counters. Further, lack of any catalysts and subdued global cues, too, restricted market participants from making fresh bets. The S&P BSE Sensex lost 155 points or 0.40 per cent to settle at 38,667, with YES Bank (down 15 per cent) being the biggest drag and Bharti Airtel (up 5 per cent) the top performer. HDFC, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank contributed the most to the index's loss while Infosys and Reliance Industries (RIL) gave the much-needed support.

In the broader market, both small and mid-cap indices underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE MidCap index ended at 14,104.13, down 162 points or 1.13 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap lost 161 points or 1.21 per cent to end at 13,171.

On the NSE, the Nifty50 index closed at 11,477.25 levels, down 35 points or 0.31 per cent.

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Bank lost nearly 800 points or 2.59 per cent to end at 29,103.85. Nifty PSU Bank index hit 52-week low in the intra-day session. The index closed at 2,293.85 levels, down 82.50 points or 3.47 per cent. Pharma stocks, too, bled in the session with the Nifty Pharma index ending at 7,549.20, down 146 points or 1.90 per cent.

IT stocks, on the other hand, logged impressive gains with the Nifty IT index surging around 2 per cent to settle at 15,527.55 levels. The Nifty FMCG index also ended in the green.

Top stocks that made news today -

Shares of Indiabulls Group companies were under pressure for the second consecutive trading day, after the Delhi High Court agreed to hear public interest litigation (PIL) seeking special investigation team (SIT) probe into Indiabulls Housing Finance. The stock saw its sharpest intra-day fall since listing, plunging 38 per cent to Rs 240, also its 52-week low on the BSE. At close, shares of the company stood at Rs 255.50, down 34 per cent.

Lakshmi Vilas Bank hit lower circuit limit of 5 per cent to end at Rs 34.75 after RBI put the bank under Prompt Corrective action (PCA).

YES Bank tumbled 15 per cent to settle at Rs 41.45 apiece.

In another news, Reliance Capital Ltd will exit the lending business, group Chairman Anil Ambani said on Monday, sending its shares to over two-decade low.

In the primary market, the IPO of IRCTC got off to a solid start as the issue got subscribed 73 per cent till 04:15 pm.