PSU stocks plunge up to 24% amid Lok Sabha Poll uncertainty
Shares of public sector enterprises (PSUs) and state-owned banks (PSBs) tumbled up to 24% yesterday as vote counting trends indicated that the BJP was not securing a clear majority in the Lok Sabha elections.
The Nifty PSE Indices saw a sharp decline of 1,856.70 points, or 16.38%, closing at 9,475.10. REC’s share price fell by 24.07% to settle at Rs 459 per share, PFC dropped 21.62%, Container Corp of India tumbled 19.43%, and Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) declined 19.21%. ONGC slumped 16.23%, Coal India declined 13.54%, NTPC fell 14.52%, and Power Grid slipped 11.98%.
The Nifty PSU Bank Index also plunged 1,211.90 points, or 15.14%, to close at 6,794.25. Union Bank’s share price tumbled 17.65% to end at Rs 140, Bank of Baroda slumped 15.74%, Punjab National Bank declined 15.15%, Canara Bank fell 13.45%, and State Bank of India (SBI) dropped 13.37%. During intra-day trade, SBI’s shares fell by up to 19.17% to Rs 731.95 on the NSE. At the session’s end, SBI’s market valuation stood at Rs 7,00,225.05 crore, with a market capitalization erosion of Rs 1.08 lakh crore.
The Nifty Bank Index slumped 4,051.35 points, or 7.95%, to finish at 46,928.60. In intra-day trade, the index fell by 4,589.2 points, or 9.61%, to 46,077.85, recording its biggest fall since February 2022.
Railtel Corp of India shares tumbled 14.56% to close at Rs 367, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd declined 13.16%, and IRCTC slumped 12.27%.
Defence PSU stocks also tumbled, with BEML’s share price falling by 20% to close at Rs 3,738.85, Bharat Heavy Electricals plunging 18.88%, and Hindustan Aeronautics dropping 17.17%. Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders declined 16.20%, while Bharat Dynamics Ltd and Cochin Shipyard each slipped 10%.
At the end of the session, the 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 1,379.40 points, or 5.93%, to close at 21,884.50.
