Closing bell | Nifty breaches 25,600 as heavyweight stocks fall after Q3 results

Indian equity benchmarks closed in the red on Monday as selling pressure intensified in index heavyweights following a fresh round of Q3 earnings, dragging the Nifty below the 25,600 mark.

The Sensex fell 324 points to end at 83,246, while the Nifty declined 109 points to settle at 25,586. Broader markets also remained under pressure, with the Nifty Midcap index slipping 220 points to 59,648 and the Nifty Bank index falling 204 points to 59,891.

Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank emerged as the biggest

drags on the benchmarks after their December-quarter results, with Reliance sliding nearly 3% and ICICI Bank falling around 2%. Wipro was the top Nifty loser, dropping 4% after the IT major issued weaker-than-expected guidance for the March quarter.

More than 30 Nifty constituents ended in the red, underscoring the risk-off tone in the market. Eternal, ICICI Bank and RIL featured prominently among the laggards, while sectoral performance remained broadly weak. Except for FMCG and auto stocks, all sectoral indices closed lower.

On the positive side,InterGlobe Aviation gained 4% to emerge as the top Nifty gainer, even after the DGCA imposed a penalty related to December flight disruptions. Hindustan Zinc rose 3% following its Q3 results and a positive brokerage note. Federal Bank and Polycab added around 4% each on strong quarterly earnings.

In the midcap space, JSW Infrastructure surged 6% post results, while MRPL dropped over 5% after announcing a halt in Russian crude imports. Punjab National Bank slipped nearly 6% from intraday highs after its Q3 numbers disappointed.

Market breadth remained skewed towards declines, with the NSE advance-decline ratio at 1:3.