The stock market indices closed lower on March 23 marked by volatile trading dragged by heavy selling pressure in telecom, banking, and auto stocks. The BSE midcap and smallcap indices ended on flat note for the second day in a row. Among sectors metals, oil & gas, healthcare ended in green, while selling was seen in auto, banks and FMCG.
At close, the Sensex was down 304.48 points or 0.53 percent at 57,684.82. The broader Nifty was down 69.80 points or 0.40 percent at 17,245.70. About 1,424 shares have advanced, 1891 shares declined, and 118 shares are unchanged.
Among top Nifty gainers were Hindalco Industries, Divis Labs, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Tata Steel and UPL. Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC, Britannia Industries, Bharti Airtel and Cipla were among the top Nifty losers
Indian benchmark indices made a gap up opening but not able to sustained due to global cues and closed in red, said Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities for Wednesday March 23. On the technical front immediate support and resistance level for Nifty 50 are 17000 and 17400 respectively. For Banknifty 35800 and 36600 are immediate support and resistance respectively.
The Sensex opened in the positive at 58,198.64 points and surged to a high of 58,416.56 points in the early morning trade. The index slipped into negative at around noon. It dipped to a low of 57,621.42 points. The Sensex had gained 696.81 points or 1.22 per cent on Tuesday.
The broader Nifty 50 of the National Stock Exchange was trading 85.70 points or 0.49 per cent down at 17,229.80 points from its previous day's close at 17,315.50 points. The Nifty had lost 197.90 points or 1.16 per cent on Tuesday. Bharti Airtel dipped 2.18 per cent to Rs 703.60. HDFC slumped 1.69 per cent to Rs 2362.10. Kotak Bank dipped 1.64 per cent to Rs 1779.
There was heavy selling pressure in auto stocks. Mahindra & Mahindra slipped 1.36 per cent to Rs 773.95. Maruti Suzuki fell 1.20 per cent to Rs 7670.60. Dr Reddy's Laboratories surged 3.63 per cent to Rs 4178.35. ITC surged 1.16 per cent to Rs 252.70. IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement and Tata Steel were among the major Sensex gainers.
Palak Kothari, Research Associate, Choice Broking said, Technically, the Nifty50 has taken resistance from the horizontal line and formed a bearish candle on a daily chart which suggests weakness for next trading day. Momentum indicator STOCHASTIC in trading with negative crossover on daily charts which indicates downside movement can be seen. Moreover, the index has managed to close above 50-DMA sustained above the same can show northward direction. Any positive trigger from the geopolitical tensions can ease the selling pressure. The Nifty may find support around 17,100/17,000 levels while on the upside 17,400-17,500 may act as an immediate hurdle for the index. On the other hand, Bank nifty has support at 35500 levels while resistance at 37,000 levels.
Market volatility continues
Volatility has continued to be the mainstay as the market is aware of some perils that could quickly snowball into a serious crisis going ahead, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Despite some greenshoots in the form of FIIs turning net buyers in recent trades, investors remain wary of the Ukraine conflict, rising US yields and fluctuating crude oil prices which can turn the tables.
On intraday and daily charts, the Nifty is holding a higher bottom formation but at the same time it is consistently facing resistance near 17440. For the traders, the Nifty support has shifted to 17200 from 17000. We expect the level of 17350-17440 if the index succeeds to trade above 17200. On the flip side, dismissal of 17180 may intensify further weakness up to 17100-17040.
Prashanth Tapse, Vice President (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said, the bullish momentum seen in early trades suddenly lacked conviction on the buy side as the bears took control of day’s session. The street will spy with one big eye if Nifty is able to weather overbought technical conditions on the daily charts, hawkish tunes from the Federal Reserve and the spike in oil prices. Technically, the make-or-break of Nifty’s support is seen at its 200 DMA at 17021 mark, while expect a waterfall of selling below 17021 mark.
Emerging market stocks advance
Emerging market stocks advanced on Wednesday as investors fleeing a selloff in bonds poured cash into equities, while Russia's rouble eased marginally after Ukraine said talks with Moscow were "confrontational" but moving forward. Global bond markets have slumped in recent sessions on signs that the US Federal Reserve would act even more aggressively to tame inflation, with the benchmark US 10-year Treasury yields jumping to its highest since May 2019.
Rupee settles 14 paise down
The rupee pared initial gains to settle 14 paise lower at 76.32 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday due to month-end dollar demand from importers and rising crude prices amid geopolitical uncertainties.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened strong at 76.08 against the American currency but could not hold the momentum and entered negative territory during the session.
The rupee pared initial gains to settle 14 paise lower at 76.32 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday due to month-end dollar demand from importers and rising crude prices amid geopolitical uncertainties.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened strong at 76.08 against the American currency but could not hold the momentum and entered negative territory during the session.
(With inputs from Reuters)
