Nifty Bank and Nifty IT
After posting the largest weekly gain of 2025 in the previous week, India’s benchmark indices, NIFTY and SENSEX, slipped into negative territory for the week ending March 13, driven by growing concerns over a global economic slowdown.
All major indices experienced declines as broader markets remained under pressure, with key indices closing in the red during all four trading sessions of the shortened holiday week. No trading happened in The Indian stock markets due to Holi on 14 March.
NIFTY IT
The NIFTY IT index was the biggest sectoral loser of the week, dropping by 4.5%. Analysts raised concerns that the index had entered ‘bear market territory,’ having corrected over 20% from its record high in December 2024. The index has now fallen 21.62% from its all-time high of 46,088.9, reached on December 13, 2024. On March 13, NIFTY IT hit a nine-month low, exacerbated by a US stock market crash that negatively impacted investor sentiment in the domestic market.
Among IT stocks, L&T Technology Services suffered the most significant loss, declining by 9.20% over the week. Infosys Ltd dropped by 6.3%, while Wipro Ltd plunged by 7.3%. Tech Mahindra Ltd and HCL Technologies were also lose their market cap. However, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) proved to be the most resilient among IT firms, registering a relatively smaller decline of 2.77% for the week.
NIFTY Bank
The banking sector faced a significant setback this week after IndusInd Bank Ltd slipped into a crisis. The NIFTY Bank index decline by 0.9%, though it managed to recover slightly towards the end of the week.
IndusInd Bank shares plummeted by over 30% after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) initiated a sector-wide assessment of derivative positions. The bank, India’s fifth-largest, disclosed discrepancies in account balances, prompting an internal review to evaluate its derivative portfolio. The lender warned that this could result in a 2.35% hit to its net worth.
Adding to the uncertainty, RBI granted only a one-year extension to MD and CEO Sumant Kathpalia, significantly shorter than the three-year tenure the bank had initially requested.
Apart from IndusInd Bank, AU Small Finance Bank suffered the most, falling 7.8%, followed closely by IDFC First Bank, which dropped 7.7%. Punjab National Bank and Axis Bank slipped 4.3%, 2.3% respectively. On the positive side, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank registered weekly gains in the range of 1-3%.
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