The equity, currency and derivatives markets will be closed for trading today, April 21 as the Street and the nation will observe Ram Navami. Commodity markets will be closed for the morning session but will open in the evening. The bourses will reopen for trading on 22 April, Thursday.
Sahaj Agrawal, Head of Research- Derivatives at Kotak Securities said the markets will continue to remain in consolidation phase with high volatility within the range. “Immediate support is seen at 14,200. I expect volatility to increase as we approach April expiry. Medium-term trend remains extremely positive with consolidation/correction in the short-term. Energy, pharma, realty stocks are in trading in the buying zone while metals continue to remain unfavorable for fresh positions,” Agrawal said.
On Tuesday (April 20), Sensex and Nifty erased early gains to settle with losses for the second day on the trot on Tuesday, as surging COVID-19 cases and growing localised restrictions continued to dent investor sentiment.
The BSE Sensex slipped 243.62 points or 0.51 percent to close the session at 47,705.80. Intra-day, the BSE gauge rose as much as 529 points to touch the day's peak of 48,478.34. Likewise, the NSE Nifty climbed over 167 points to reclaim the key 14,500-level during the day, but surrendered all its gains to end at 14,296.40, showing a drop of 63.05 points or 0.44 per cent.
On the Sensex chart, UltraTech Cement, HCL Tech, HDFC, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank and HUL emerged as the major laggards - falling as much as 4.7 percent. On the other hand, Bajaj Finserv, Dr Reddy's, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Auto and Maruti were among the top gainers.
Market analysts said a continued spike in fresh COVID-19 cases in the country and announcements of restrictions by several states have clearly dented investor sentiments and posed a threat to earnings recovery.
Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, said, the lack of strength to sustain the highs continued in the market on Tuesday and the Nifty is now placed at the crucial support juncture of around 14,200-14,150. “Chances of a downside breakout seems higher. A decisive below the support is likely to drag Nifty down to 13,500 levels in a quick period of time. Any upside bounce from here could find strong resistance around 14,370."
The rupee ended almost flat at 74.88 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday.
Banks closed
According to the RBI calendar, banks are shut in cities where Ram Navami is observed as a national holiday--Agartala, Ahmedabad, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Gangtok, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Ranchi, Shimla. However, banks are open in Aizawl, Bengaluru, Chennai, Guwahati, Imphal, Jammu, Kochi, Kolkata, New Delhi, Panaji, Raipur, Shillong, Srinagar, Thiruvananthapuram. Banks also remain closed on banks will remain closed on April 24 (fourth Saturday) and 25 April.
