HDFC Bank shares extended their losing streak to a fifth consecutive session on January 9, declining as much as 1% to an intraday low of ₹938. The stock has shed 6% over this period, with investors awaiting the bank's third-quarter earnings announcement scheduled for January 17.

Technical Analysis Points to Bearish Momentum

Technical analysts are highlighting concerning chart patterns for the banking stock. According to Aakash Shah, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Equity Broking, the stock is displaying a clear bearish structure on the daily chart.

The breakdown from the ₹1,000-1,020 resistance zone has triggered strong selling pressure, leading to lower highs and lower lows. Shah noted that bearish candles supported by higher volumes point toward distribution rather than a healthy correction.

Support Levels and Downside Risks

Vatsal Bhuva of LKP Securities echoed the bearish sentiment, highlighting that the RSI has entered a bearish crossover and is placed near 26, indicating an oversold condition. Both analysts identified key support and resistance levels for the stock.

Analysts suggest that failure to hold the ₹935-940 support zone could lead to further downside toward ₹900, which aligns with the 100 EMA on the weekly chart.

Q3 Earnings Expectations

Despite the technical weakness, brokerages maintain a mixed to positive outlook for the December quarter performance. Management has indicated that most of the asset-side repricing is now behind, and net interest margins (NIMs) are expected to benefit from the downward repricing of term deposits.

Yes Securities expects the bank to report sequential loan growth in the 2.5% range. However, net interest income (NII) growth is expected to trail loan growth marginally, as the decline in yields on advances is seen outpacing the reduction in cost of deposits, likely causing NIMs to soften sequentially.

Brokerage Targets Remain Optimistic

Despite recent price weakness, several brokerages maintain positive long-term outlook with substantial upside targets.

Axis Securities notes that HDFC Bank has remained largely on track with its guidance as it works towards reverting to pre-merger levels across key metrics. With the loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) now below 100%, the bank is likely to accelerate growth in FY26 to align with system-wide trends.

InCred Equities expects margins to trough at levels better than earlier anticipated, and together with benign asset quality trends and sustained deposit growth momentum, this should support a rerating of the stock in the coming months. The brokerage anticipates that margin pressure seen in H1 is expected to ease in H2, supported by deposit repricing and the impact of CRR cuts on exit margins.

HDFC Bank witnessed substantial institutional trading activity on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) with a significant block trade transaction. The large-scale trade reflects the continued interest of institutional investors in one of India's leading private sector banks.

Block Trade Details

The transaction involved a considerable volume of shares and represents a substantial monetary value in the banking sector.

Market Significance

Block trades of this magnitude typically indicate significant institutional activity and portfolio adjustments. Such transactions are executed outside the regular market to avoid impacting the stock's market price during normal trading hours. The execution price of ₹942.20 per share represents the agreed-upon value between the participating parties for this substantial transaction.

The transaction volume of approximately 2.87 million shares demonstrates the scale of institutional participation in HDFC Bank's stock. Block trades are commonly used by institutional investors, mutual funds, insurance companies, and other large market participants for efficient execution of substantial orders without causing market disruption.