HDFC Bank Share Price Fall: Shares of HDFC Bank, India’s second most valuable company, plunged about 9 percent at open on Thursday, erasing nearly Rs 1 lakh crore in market capitalisation within minutes.
The stock is headed for its worst single-day fall since the Covid-19 crash of March 2020, when it dropped nearly 13 percent.
The sharp selloff follows the resignation of part-time Chairman and independent director Atanu Chakraborty, who cited concerns over certain practices at the bank that he said did not align with his personal values and ethics.
The lender clarified that there were no reasons beyond those mentioned in the resignation letter. Keki Mistry has been appointed interim part-time chairman for three months, with approval from the Reserve Bank of India.
Amid speculation, Mistry dismissed any talk of internal conflict. “There was no power struggle in the bank. Differences on minor issues arise from time to time, but there was no material difference between Atanu and the board,” he said during a conference call.
HDFC Bank shares fell as much as 9 percent at open, pulling its market capitalisation down to just over Rs 11.85 lakh crore. The stock later pared some losses and was trading about 5 percent lower at 10:20 am. Its previous sharpest fall was recorded on March 23, 2020, when it declined 12.7 percent.
According to Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Investments, the stock has underperformed broader benchmarks after breaching key support levels. While this raises the possibility of a short-term rebound, he warned that a break below the January 2025 low of Rs 810 could signal further downside, with a potential target of Rs 748 unless the stock closes back above Rs 810.
The sharp fall in HDFC Bank also weighed on broader markets. Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty dropped over 2 percent at open, with the Sensex falling 1,953 points to 74,751 and the Nifty 50 declining more than 580 points to 23,198. The selloff wiped out over Rs 7 lakh crore in investor wealth within minutes, dragging total BSE market capitalisation to Rs 432 lakh crore.
