On the weekly expiry day, the index opened on a negative note and traded with negative bias throughout the sessions, and closed the session at 17,764.80 levels with a loss of 133 points. While Bank Nifty closed the session at 37,976.25 level with a loss of 65.30 points.
At close, the Sensex was down 433.05 points or 0.72 percent at 59,575.28. The broader Nifty was down 133.90 points or 0.75 percent at 17,764.80. About 997 shares have advanced, 2,252 shares declined, and 133 shares are unchanged.
On the sectoral front, all closed on a red note while the Nifty Auto and Metal were the top losers. Stocks like State Bank of India, PowerGrid, IOC, HDFC Bank, and Reliance were the top gainers while Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, M&M, Larsen and Toubro, and HCL Tech.
Palak Kothari, Research Associate, Choice Broking said, "Technically, the index has given a breakdown of the rising trend line and given closing below 50 DMA, which suggests weakness for the next trading sessions. From the last four trading sessions, the index has been trading with lower highs and lower lows, which points out some corrections for the next trading session. However, the Index has taken support from the lower band of Bollinger, breaching below can show further downside. Furthermore, the index has given closing below 21 DMA as well as the Stochastic & MACD indicator is trading negative crossover, which points to weakness in the counter for the next trading sessions. At present, the index has a support level of 17,650, while resistance is at 18,000 levels.
Gaurav Udani, CEO and Founder, ThincRedBlu Securities, "Nifty after making a low of 17,688 closed at 17,740 , down by 150 points since yesterday's close. 17,600 to 17,550 should act as the next support range for Nifty. Traders are suggested to avoid buying falling markets and wait for Nifty to close above 18,200 with higher than average volumes. Overall nifty is in the correction trend and we may see 17,600-17,550 levels in the next few trading sessions."
Mohit Nigam, Head-PMS, Hem Securities said, "Strong selling pressures were seen in Auto (NIFTY Auto: -2.61 percent), Metal (NIFTY Metal: -2.59 percent), and IT (NIFTY IT: -1.78 percent) stocks. On the technical front 17,700 and 18,000 are near-term support and resistance in Nifty 50 and for Bank Nifty, 37,680 may act as immediate support while 38,396 is seen as resistance level."
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd, said, "Market sentiment remained weak for the third straight session as factors such as rising inflation numbers and higher valuations are weighing on investors' minds, resulting in correction in key indices. On weekly charts, the Nifty has formed a strong bearish candle which is largely negative. In addition, the index has broken the important support level of 17800 and closed below the same.
"For the traders, 17,950 would be the immediate hurdle. If the index rises above the level, a pull back momentum can continue up to 18,025-18,150-18,200 levels. On the flip side, trading below the 50 day SMA or 17,900, the index could slip up to 17,600-17,500 levels. Contra traders can take a long bet near 17500 with a strict support stop loss at 17,425. Meanwhile, after a long time, the Bank Nifty trading below the 50 day SMA which is broadly negative. The texture suggests 38,500 and 39,000 could act as important resistance levels in the short run."
Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said, "Nifty fell for the third consecutive session. In the process the Nifty logged a first weekly loss in three weeks. While equities still remain attractive due to negative real interest rates, a high equity risk premium and flows looking for real returns, the chart formation over the last few days suggests some more weakness before any reversal is seen. If the support of 17,613 is breached, this down move can accelerate."
