The benchmark indices closed lower on April 12 tracking weakness in index majors Wipro, RIL and Bharti Airtel amid a weak trend in global markets. Investors also remained cautious ahead of crucial macroeconomic data announcements -- industrial production for February and inflation rate for March -- post trading hours.
The S&P BSE Sensex fell 388 points or 0.66 percent to close at 58,576.37 points. The broader Nifty50 index was down 144.70 points or 0.82 percent to end at 17,530. About 1,146 shares have advanced, 2,193 shares declined, and 90 shares are unchanged.
Bank Nifty outperformed, gaining 0.36 percent to finish the day at 37,747. India VIX and Broader markets fell.
Among the top Nifty losers were Hindalco Industries, Coal India, Grasim Industries, Tata Motors and Tata Steel. Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Power Grid Corporation, SBI Life Insurance and Maruti Suzuki were the top gainers.
From the 30-share pack, Tata Steel, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro and Bajaj Finserv were among the major laggards. In contrast, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Power Grid, Maruti Suzuki, and ICICI Bank were among the gainers.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said, ''The Market will continue to be choppy in the near-term, pulled up and down by positive and negative news. The near-term headwind continues to be the rising US bond yields which have crossed 2.8 percent for the 10-year and outflows from equity.
''The tech-heavy NASDAQ has turned distinctly weak and this has led to some profit-booking in Indian IT stocks too. But IT is likely to do well as TCS results indicate robust deal wins and order flows,'' he said.
On Monday, the Sensex tanked 482.61 points or 0.81 percent to settle at 58,964.57. The Nifty declined by 109.40 points or 0.62 percent to finish at 17,674.95.
The Nifty has broken trend support of 17,600 – High probability of sideways to corrective movement for the near term, said Sahaj Agrawal, Head of Research- Derivatives at Kotak Securities. The breach of 17,420 can further infuse selling pressure in the short term. Immediate resistance is placed at 17,600 – if crossed can invite some short covering. Bank-Nifty trades with resistance of 37,920. Weak longs can be exited since volatility is expected to rise for the near-term.
Concerns of a slowdown in consumer spending following a rise in fuel prices ahead of earning seasons hit investors' sentiments today, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities. Nifty, post-gap-down opening, broke 17,600, the crucial support level. Reality and Metal indices shed over 2.5 percent whereas banking stocks recovered sharply from the day's lowest levels. Technically, after a long time, the Nifty has closed below 10-days SMA. We are of the view that the broader market texture is still weak and any fresh uptrend rally is possible only after 17,620 breakouts. Below these levels, we could see further weakness till 17,400-17,350. On the flip side, if Nifty succeeds to trade 17620 then it will move up to 17,700 and 17,800. The market texture is volatile hence level based trading would be the ideal strategy for the traders.
El Nino ruled out
The June-September monsoon season is expected to be normal this year, New Delhi-based private forecaster Skymet Weather Services said on Tuesday. Rains are likely to be 98 percent of the long-term average of 880.6mm, the company says on its website. The occurrence of El Nino is ruled out this year.
Deepak Jasani, Head-Retail Research, HDFC Securities said, Optimism among fund managers over global economic growth has hit an all-time low while concerns of possible stagflation have risen to the highest since August 2008, a monthly survey by investment bank BoFA Securities showed on Tuesday. Asked about their expectations for global growth in the coming months, a net 71 percent of survey respondents were pessimistic about prospects, the most since the survey records began in the early 1990s.
Nifty after falling gap-down has formed a hammer like pattern, suggesting possibility of an upward reversal. Advance decline ratio fell to much below 1:1 suggesting broad based profit taking in the markets. Nifty could remain in the 17,405-17,651 band in the near term, he added.
Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director, Choice Broking, said, Technically, the Nifty index slipped below the prior week close. However, the index took support at Middle Bollinger Band formation, 21-days Simple Moving Averages and managed to sustain above 17500 levels. A momentum indicator RSI (14) & Stochastic is moving downward, which suggests a bearish move in the index. On the other side, an indicator MACD showed bullish strength along with a positive crossover that indicates a limited downside in the index. On an hourly chart, the index has taken a Horizontal Line support and closed above it.
On the options front, the highest call options OI is at 18,000 strike price followed by 17,800 strike price while on the put side, the highest OI is at 17,500 strike price followed by 17,000/16,500 strike price. The volatility index (VIX) has jumped from the low of 15.10 to close at 18.23 levels. For the coming day, the nifty may show some volatility ahead of the weekly expiry. At present, the index is having support at 17,400/17,270 levels while resistance is placed at 17,750 levels. On the other hand, Bank Nifty has support at 37,000 levels while resistance at 38,400 levels.
TCS settles flat
TCS settled flat at Rs 3,691.45, lower by 0.13 per cent after declaring its earnings post trading hours on Monday.
The country's largest software services firm Tata Consultancy Services on Monday opened the fourth-quarter earnings season with a stellar set of numbers, crossing the Rs 50,000-crore revenue mark for the first time and recording 7.4 per cent year-on-year growth in net profit to Rs 9,926 crore.
Asian markets end lower
In Asia, markets in Tokyo and Seoul ended lower, while Shanghai and Hong Kong settled higher.
Asian shares were mostly in negative territory ahead of US inflation data which could foreshadow even more aggressive interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. Chinese stocks however bounced back in afternoon trading as foreign investors accelerated purchases and speculation mounted that policy makers will take measures aimed at reviving economic growth.
European stock markets traded lower Tuesday, with investors cautious ahead of key central bank meetings, with inflation climbing sharply, while the ongoing Ukraine conflict looks likely to intensify.
Crude prices up
International oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 3.20 per cent to $101.6 per barrel.
Rupee sheds 23 paise
The rupee fell 23 paise to close at 76.14 (provisional) against US dollar.
