IDFC First Bank drops 16% on ₹590 crore fraud; Sensex jumps 480 points, Nifty above 25,700

The equity benchmarks closed largely in the green on Monday (February 23), with the BSE Sensex rising 480 points to end at 83,295 and the Nifty 50 advancing 142 points to settle at 25,713. The Nifty closed above the 25,700 mark.

The midcap segment underperformed the benchmarks. The Midcap index declined 258 points to 59,256. Market breadth remained neutral, with the NSE advance-decline ratio at 1:1. Among sectoral indices, Nifty IT extended losses and ended lower for the third straight session. In contrast, Nifty Bank outperformed, rising 92 points to close at 61,264.

From the Sensex basket, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd, Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd, Nestle India Ltd, Adani Enterprises Ltd and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd were the major gainers. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Hindalco Industries Ltd,

Wipro Ltd, Infosys Ltd, Tech Mahindra Ltd and Cipla Ltd were the biggest laggards.

IDFC First Bank dropped over 16% after disclosing a ₹590 crore fraud at its Chandigarh branch. UPL fell 14% following a restructuring announcement. AU Small Finance Bank slid 6% after the Government of Haryana de-empanelled the lender.

Morepen Laboratories jumped 16% after the company secured a ₹825 crore global order. Olectra Greentech rose nearly 3% after receiving a ₹1,800 crore electric bus order from Telangana. Axis Bank gained over 1% after denying reports that it was bidding for a stake in CreditAccess Grameen.

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd remained under pressure and fell over 3%, tracking developments related to the LCA Tejas aircraft programme. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone gained 3% after signing a memorandum of understanding with NMDC and Brazil-based Vale.