The benchmark stock market indices closed in the red on April 19 during fag-end of the trade on Tuesday, with the Sensex losing 703.59 points lower as weakness in HDFC twins and Infosys continued to dent sentiments. Except oil & gas all other indices ended lower with IT, power, realty and FMCG indices down 2 percent each.
At close, the Sensex was down 703.59 points or 1.23 percent at 56,463.15. The Nifty was down 215.00 points or 1.25 percent at 16,958.70. About 1111 shares have advanced, 2216 shares declined, and 118 shares are unchanged.
Among top Nifty losers were HDFC, HDFC Life, SBI Life Insurance, HDFC Bank and Tata Consumer Products. Apollo Hospitals, Coal India, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and BPCL were the top gainers.
Concerns over rising inflation and foreign fund outflows in the wake of the uncertain geopolitical situation also sapped investor confidence.
Only four of the 30 scrips that are part of the Sensex closed in the positive--Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and Bajaj Finance .. From the 30-share Sensex pack, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Infosys, ITC, Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies were among the major laggards.
Late sell-off in markets over Russia-Ukraine crisis
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd said, it was late sell-off in the markets on worries over new turn in Russia-Ukraine crisis. Technology, FMCG and Reality lost the most, shedding over three per cent.
Technically, on daily charts, the Nifty has formed a long bearish candle and after a long time, it succeed to close below 200 day SMA which indicates further weakness from the current levels. Chouhan said, "We are of the view that the short term formation is weak but oversold. For the traders now, 17,050 would be the immediate hurdle, below the same correction wave will persist till 16,800-16,700. On the flip side, a fresh pullback rally is possible only after 17,050. Above the same, it could retest the level of 17,100-17,150. Short-term traders should remain cautious and be very selective as there is a risk to get trapped at lower levels."
The market remained resilient throughout the day but then there was a sudden sell-off in the last hour and we can say that there could be large FIIs selling post 2:30 PM, said .Parth Nyati, Founder, Tradingo. Apart from FIIs selling, rising energy prices, geopolitical concerns, and rising US bond yields are key concerns for the market.
Technically, the Nifty has slipped below its important moving averages and psychological level of 17,000 however 16,900-16,800 is another critical support zone that the bulls need to defend otherwise we can expect more pain in the coming days. On the upside, 17,150-17,300 will act as an immediate supply zone while 20-DMA of 17,500 is a key hurdle.
Bank Nifty has also slipped below 200-DMA however 36,000 is a psychological support level; below this, we can expect more pain towards the 35000 level. On the upside, 36700-37000 is an immediate supply zone while 37500 is the next hurdle, said Nyati.
Nifty Put-Call ratio fell to 0.76 level whereas FIIs' long exposure in index future has also slipped to 45% and both are in oversold territory therefore short covering could be one hope for the bulls, he added.
On the technical front, the Shooting Star Pattern is observed on the weekly chart, suggesting Index to be on the weaker side, said Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director, Choice Broking. On the daily chart, Nifty ended the session below 200 days Simple Moving Averages indicating the same can show more downside movement. An indicator RSI and MACD suggesting negative crossover on the daily chart as well.
According to Fibonacci retrenchment, the next immediate support is placed at 16600 level. India VIX ended at 19.78 with a rise of 2.38 percent. At present, the index is having support at 16,600 levels while resistance is placed at 17,300 levels. On the other hand, Bank nifty has support at 35,500 followed by 35,000 levels while resistance at 37,200 levels.
Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities said, European shares were lower on Tuesday, while yields on 10-year US inflation-linked bonds were close to turning positive for the first time in two years, as the prospect of aggressive Fed tightening to rein in inflation kept investors on edge. Nifty 50 closes its day below good resistance zone of 17,000 and if index holds below 17,000 mark for coming trading sessions then we may see more downward move towards 16,800-16,500 mark which are another support zone on the downside. The market breadth was skewed in the favour of bears. Crucial support for Nifty 50 is 16,800 while Nifty may face some resistance at 17,500.
Rupee falls 22 paise
The rupee fell 22 paise to close at 76.51 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, tracking a strong American currency in the overseas market and significant foreign fund outflows.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 76.34 against the American currency and settled at 76.51, down 22 paise from the previous close.
During the session, the rupee witnessed an intra-day high of 76.25 and a low of 76.53 against the American currency.
Anindya Banerjee, VP, Currency Derivatives & Interest Rate Derivatives at Kotak Securities Ltd, said, “USDINR spot closed 24 paise higher at 76.50, after a late buying surge, due to FPI bids in the market. A sharp sell-off in local equities may have brought aggressive bids from FPIs and speculators. With US bond yields marching higher with 10 year shy of 3 percent, level last seen in 2018, traders are becoming jittery, about being long Rupee. Over the near-term, volatility can be high as USDINR trades with an upward bias and within a broad range of 76.20 and 76.80 on spot.”
On Monday, the rupee had ended 10 paise lower at 76.29 against the US dollar.
Asian markets settle lower
In Asia, markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong settled lower, while Seoul and Tokyo were up.
Markets in Europe were also trading lower in the afternoon session.
Stocks in the US had ended marginally lower on Monday.
Crude prices down
International oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.39 percent to $111.6 per barrel.
FIIs on selling spree
Foreign institutional investors continued their selling spree, offloading shares worth a net Rs 6,387.45 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
