HDFC Bank shares plunge over 8% post Q3 earnings; valuation erodes by Rs 1 lakh crore

New Delhi: Shares of HDFC Bank fell by over 8 per cent on Wednesday, eroding Rs 1 lakh crore from its market valuation, after the company's December quarter earnings failed to impress investors.

The stock tanked 8.46 per cent to settle at Rs 1,536.90 on the BSE. During the day, it plunged 9 per cent to Rs 1,527.25.

It fell by 8.15 per cent to close at Rs 1,542.15 on the NSE.

The company's market capitalisation (mcap) eroded by Rs 1,07,851.24 crore to Rs 11,66,888.98 crore.

It was the biggest laggard among the Sensex and Nifty firms.

In the broader equity market, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex plunged 1,628.01 points or 2.23 per cent to 71,500.76, and the Nifty tanked 460.35 points or 2.09 per cent to 21,571.95.

Selling was also seen in other bank stocks, with Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and IndusInd Bank, ending in the red.

The BSE Bankex index tumbled 4.02 per cent to 52,020.27.

"HDFC Bank's share price slipped on concerns around slowdown in deposit growth," said Jaykrishna Gandhi, Head - Business Development, Institutional Equities, Emkay Global Financial Services.

HDFC Bank on Tuesday reported a 2.65 per cent rise in consolidated net profit of Rs 17,258 crore for the October-December period against Rs 16,811 crore in the preceding September quarter.

The largest private sector lender, which merged mortgage lender parent HDFC into itself in July, reported a net profit of Rs 16,372 crore against Rs 15,976 crore in the quarter-ago period on a standalone basis.

"HDFC Bank reported a mixed quarter," according to a report by Motilal Oswal Research.

Its core net interest income grew to Rs 28,470 crore during the quarter, while the other income stood at Rs 11,140 crore, according to exchange filings.

On the asset quality front, it registered an improvement in the gross non-performing assets ratio at 1.26 per cent against 1.34 per cent in the quarter-ago period.