The stock market indices closed positive on Monday (December 27). The index opened negative and made an intraday low at 16,833.20 levels but showed recovery from the bottom and managed to close above 17,000-level. Bank Nifty closed the session at 35057.90 level with a gain of 200.85 points.
The benchmark Sensex was up 334.86 points or 0.59 percent at 57,459.17. The Nifty was up 92.50 points or 0.54 percent at 17,096.30. About 1,944 shares have advanced, 1285 shares declined, and 124 shares are unchanged.
RBL Bank shares tanked 18 percent after the sudden exit of MD and CEO Vishwavir Ahuja.
On the sectoral front, Nifty Pharma, IT, and Financial extended gains while Metals, and FMCG were under pressure. Stocks like Tech Mahindra, Cipla, Dr Reddy, SBI Life were the top gainers. While, Hindalco, Britannia, Indus Ind Bank, ONGC were prime laggards
Palak Kothari, Research Associate, Choice Broking said, "On the technical front, the index has confirmed Hammer kind of candle on an Hourly chart which suggests strength for upside in the counter. Moreover, the index has been trading above 21&50-HMA which suggests strength in the counter. However, a momentum indicator STOCHASTIC trading with a positive crossover on the daily time-frame. At present, the Index has support at 16800 levels while resistance comes at 17,180 levels, crossing above the same can show 17,300-17,400 levels. On the other hand, Bank Nifty has support at 34,200 levels while resistance at 35,500 levels."
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd, said, "While the market witnessed volatility in early trades, it later settled in positive territory and stayed range-bound thereafter. We may see trading activity largely remaining listless in the next few days with year-end drawing closer, unless there are any major developments globally that could trigger sharp sideways movement.
"The Nifty recovered sharply from the intraday low level and has also formed a strong bullish candle which indicates strong possibility of continuation of an uptrend in the near future. We are of the view that 17,000 would be the key level for the trend following traders, above the same the uptrend formation is likely to continue till 17,150-17,250. On the other side, below 17,000, the index could possibly see another round of correction wave up to 16,900-16,860 levels."
Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities said, "Except metal, all other sectoral indices ended in green today with pharma index gaining 1.62 percent today. Today Bank Nifty hit a 6-month low but we still maintain a positive outlook on the Indian Banking sector and see a better risk reward ratio looking at the current valuation. Over the past few quarters, banks have strengthened their balance sheet through higher provisioning, fundraising, cautious lending and strengthened risk metrics. Recovery post-COVID-19 disruption has been good and the capital levels are at all-time highs. Overall, asset quality started improving, which will be reflected in the GNPA levels in the coming quarters. We believe banking stocks are at the start of another growth phase from H2 FY22. Bank Nifty has a good support at 34,500 and today itself Bank Nifty rebounded from this point. We can witness more upside in Bank Nifty upto 35,800 in near term. Immediate support and resistance for Nifty 50 are 16,800 and 17,200 respectively."
