Stock market today: Sensex plunges over 859 points, Nifty settles at 23,600

NEW DELHI: The equity markets continued to show weakness on Wednesday as the benchmark indices closing in red, with Sensex declining 862 point to settle at 77,812.67 while Nifty at 23,600. However, Swiggy at its debut settled at 456, 16.92% up than its issue price of 390.

Shares of the food and quick delivery platform was listed at Rs 420 in NSE and Rs 412 on BSE. The IPO, valued at Rs 11,327 crore (approximately $1.4 billion), marks the second-largest listing in India this year, trailing only Hyundai Motor India’s Rs 27,870-crore offering.

Swiggy’s IPO received strong backing from institutional investors, with Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) subscribing at a rate of 6.02 times. Non-institutional investors followed closely, subscribing 10.41 times. Retail investors subscribed 1.14 times to their allotted portion, while employees bid 1.65 times for their reserved shares, showing substantial support from both segments.

Swiggy’s debut, valued at around $11.3 billion, positions it as India’s largest technology IPO since Paytm. The listing is expected to generate significant wealth for employees, with approximately 500 Swiggy staffers likely to join the ‘Crorepati’ Club as employee stock options (ESOPs) unlock nearly Rs 9,000 crore in value.

On Tuesday, Indian markets faced a steep decline, with the Sensex losing over 900 points and closing at 78,675.18, down by 820.97 points, or 1.03%. The Nifty50 mirrored this performance, slipping to 23,883.45 with a loss of 257.85 points, or 1.07%. The decline followed a lackluster Monday session, influenced by global market cues, sustained foreign institutional investor (FII) selling, and mixed quarterly earnings reports.

Among the top gainers on Tuesday were Tata Motors, Asian Paints, LIC, Biocon, Trent, Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies, Infosys, Sun Pharma, ONGC, ICICI Bank, SBI Life, Reliance, TCS, and Grasim, indicating targeted investor interest in select sectors. Despite these gains, the overall market sentiment remained cautious, with investors keenly awaiting key earnings announcements from major companies.

The Gift Nifty was at 24,130, suggesting a moderate outlook for the immediate term. Analysts predict a period of market consolidation ahead. Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, noted, “Nifty’s weekly chart shows a small negative candle with long upper and lower shadows, forming a high wave pattern. The short-term trend appears choppy, with consolidation likely to continue, though with a weak bias.”