The benchmark equity indices fell nearly a percent and closed in the red wiping off earlier gains on the last trading of April.
All the sectoral indices ended in the red.
At close, the Sensex was down 460.19 points or 0.80 percent at 57,060.87. Thhe Nifty was down 142.50 points or 0.83 percent at 17,102.50. About 1,265 shares have advanced, 2,035 shares declined, and 117 shares are unchanged.
Among top Nifty laggards were Axis Bank, Coal India, Adani Ports, Power Grid and Bajaj Auto. Gainers were HDFC Life, Tata Consumer.
The Indian equity benchmarks trimmed all of their gains in late afternoon session and ended in red. Benchmark index closed with the loss of 0.83 percent, said Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities. Weakness in select Energy and Oil and Gas shares dragged key gauges lower, while buying was seen in Healthcare and metal stocks. Sector wise, telecom sector remained in focused, as Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has said the government is likely to hold 5G spectrum auction in early June.
On the global front, all Asian markets were trading higher tracking a broadly positive finish on Wall Street overnight, driven by technology stocks, which mirrored their peers on Nasdaq, reacting to upbeat earnings from top companies. European markets were trading higher amidst the recent positive earnings updates, keeping the markets in high spirits on the last trading day of the month.
Nigam added, On technical front, Nifty50 may take support at 16,950 levels and may face resistance at 17,400 levels. In case of Bank Nifty immediate support and resistance levels are 35,700 and 36,600 level respectively.
Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director, Choice Broking, said the benchmark index was holding the gains for the initial part of the day after a positive opening, but during the last hours of the closing, we witnessed a sharp sell-off in the market. The Nifty index settled in red at 17102.55 with 0.83 down fall while Bank Nifty corrected 0.92 percent to close at 36,088.15 levels. All the sectoral indices closed in red; Nifty MEDIA dragged 3 percent followed by PSUBANK, INFRA & ENERGY sector. On the stock front, HDFCLIFE, TATACONSUMER, KOTAKBANK were the top gainers while AXISBANK, COALINDIA, ADANIPORTS & POWERGRID were the prime laggards for the day.
Derivatives data was continuously indicating resistance around 17,300 levels as higher OI buildup was seen over there. On the call side, the highest OI witnessed at 17,300 followed by 17,800 strike price while on the put side, the highest OI was at 17,000 followed by 17,100 strike price. The volatility index (India VIX) ended at 19.37 levels.
Bagadia said, Technically, the Nifty index has slipped from Middle Bollinger Band formation & moved below 21 days EMA that suggest bearishness for the coming day. Moreover, the index has also formed a Bearish Engulfing candlestick pattern on the daily chart, which is a bearish indication for the near-term. However, the index is still taking support at 50-SMA and an indicator Stochastic is hovering near the oversold zone. At present, the index is having support at 16,950 levels while resistance is placed at 17,300 levels. On the other hand, Bank Nifty has support at 35,700 levels while resistance at 36,500 levels.
Weekly outlook
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities, said, Equity markets focused on evolving growth-inflation dynamics, ongoing 4QFY22 earnings prints and volatile global commodity prices. Markets continued to price in the probability of aggressive rate hikes by the US Fed. The Sensex was at 57,948 on April 29, 2022 ending with gain of 1.31 percent during the week, while the Nifty was at 17,368 on reporting gain of 1.14 percent during the week. Midcap and Smallcap Index underperformed during the week gaining 0.28 percent and losing 1.1 percent respectively. Most of the sectoral Indices ended in green during the week. BSE FMCG and BSE Auto each gained around 2 percent while most the other sectoral gainers between 1 to 2 percent. BSE Telecom was the biggest loser losing around 3.5 percent followed by BSE Metal and BSE Oil & Gas which lost around 1.6 percent and 1.5 percent respectively. BSE IT continued with its losses losing around 1.1 percent. Aggregate net profits for the 12 companies in the Nifty-50 Index, that have reported till now, increased by 0.2 percent versus estimates. On the economy front, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said India needs to strengthen its labour, land and education sector, with a focus on improving participation of women in the labour force, if it wants to improve its growth potential.
GDP in US unexpectedly declined at a 1.4 percent annualized pace in the first quarter of CY22, marking an abrupt reversal for an economy coming off its best performance since 1984, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The negative growth rate missed even the subdued Dow Jones estimate of a 1 percent gain for the quarter. However, shares across major markets were buoyed this week by a robust round of corporate earnings, with a positive sessions in Wall Street leading into optimism in Asia-Pacific shares.
On the data front, the French economy stagnated in the first quarter of CY22 as weak domestic demand continued despite an easing of COVID-19 restrictions. The euro zone’s second-largest economy was unchanged following growth of 0.8 percent in the final quarter of CY21, with economists in a Wall Street Journal poll having projected a quarterly expansion of 0.3 percent. German, Italian and wider euro area GDP growth and inflation readings are due later in the morning.
In other global news, investors continue to monitor the war in Ukraine and its geopolitical implications, after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West of a “lightning fast” response to countries that intervene in the war. Denmark has become the first country to halt its COVID vaccination program, saying it is doing so because the virus has been brought under control.
