Shares of Eternal Ltd, the parent company of food delivery giant Zomato and quick-commerce platform Blinkit, witnessed intense selling pressure during Tuesday's trading session on December 16. The stock tumbled sharply, erasing its gains from the previous three days and recording its most significant single-day decline in months.
Sharp Sell-Off Erases Gains
The stock opened the session lower at ₹298.20 per share compared to its previous close. The selling pressure intensified as the day progressed, exacerbated by a broader market downturn. The share price eventually closed at ₹282.65, down 5.3% for the day. This marked the stock's worst intraday performance since July and decisively ended its three-day winning streak. The day's losses wiped out all the gains accumulated over the preceding three sessions.
With this decline, Eternal's stock has depreciated by approximately 4% in the month of December so far. For the calendar year, the stock remains marginally positive, up by 3.43%. Trading activity was exceptionally high, with a substantial 43.9 million shares changing hands on the BSE and NSE combined by 1:30 PM. This volume was double the stock's daily average, indicating heightened investor activity.
Sustained Institutional Interest Amid Pressure
The sell-off occurs against a backdrop of sustained institutional interest, evidenced by a series of large block deals. Just last week, a significant transaction saw 5.3 crore shares, representing 0.54% of Eternal's equity, change hands. This follows two other major block deals in mid-November involving nearly 90 lakh shares worth ₹279.25 crore. Earlier in June, another 60.93 lakh shares were traded in a block deal worth about ₹156 crore.
This steady flow of large transactions underscores the continued focus of institutional investors on Eternal Ltd. This interest is partly driven by the company's rapid expansion and the strong growth momentum of its quick-commerce business, Blinkit.
Regulatory Clouds and Path Ahead
The stock has been facing headwinds since hitting its all-time high of ₹368 in October 2024. The downward trend was extended in the following weeks, particularly after the Union government introduced new labour codes. These regulations have raised concerns among investors about potential financial implications for platform aggregators like Zomato and Blinkit.
The new rules increase the compliance burden, requiring aggregators to contribute 1–2% of their annual turnover towards social security benefits for gig and platform workers. This contribution is capped at 5% of the amount paid to these workers. However, several brokerage firms have analyzed the potential impact and suggest that companies are likely to pass on most of this additional cost to consumers.
Analysts estimate that a modest increase of ₹2 to ₹3 per order could cover the additional expense. They believe such a hike is unlikely to significantly alter user behavior, especially since customers have recently absorbed similar platform fees. The Indian gig economy, powered by companies like Zomato, Swiggy, Uber, Amazon, and Flipkart, has expanded dramatically over the last decade, and brokerages see limited long-term margin impact from the new labour codes.
Despite the near-term pressure from regulatory changes and market sentiment, the fundamental story around Eternal's scale-up and Blinkit's growth continues to attract investor attention, as reflected in the high-volume trading activity.
