Stock Market Highlights: Sensex falls 178 points, Nifty ends below 15,700 as metals, banks, drag; midcaps underperform

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Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking

Markets extended Wednesday’s fall and lost half a percent, pressurized by weak global cues. The US Fed’s hawkish tone didn’t go well with the equity investors across the globe and we might see the overhang for a session or two. Going ahead, the focus would shift back to fundamentals and domestic factors viz. pace of vaccination drive, reopening by states, etc. Meanwhile, we reiterate our advice of keeping a check on naked leveraged positions and let the markets stabilize.

Sugandha Sachdeva, VP- Commodity & Currency Research, Religare Broking

The Indian rupee has witnessed a sharp depreciation of more than one percent in today’s trade owing to the strength witnessed in the dollar index and hawkish tone of the US Fed, which has dented the risk-on sentiments in the markets. With a faster than expected rise in inflation and swift recovery in the US economy, the US Fed has projected rate hikes and tapering of its massive bond-buying program sooner than expected, all of which bodes well for further strength in the greenback. Besides, the rise in crude oil towards two-year highs is also weighing on the local unit. In the near term, the path for the domestic currency looks skewed on the downside and we expect it to test levels of around 74.90 in the coming days.

Shrikant Chouhan, Executive Vice President, Equity Technical Research, Kotak Securities Ltd

An important event ended in the market yesterday, but today the market was neutral at the level of 15,550/51,700. This confirms that the market trend is strong and may reach the 15,900/52,800 or 16,000/53,100 level once again. Today, Technology stocks and Reliance gave strong support to the index, which allowed the Nifty to close at 15,700. The Nifty/Sensex could reach fresh levels on Friday if the indices don't close below the levels of 15,550/51,700. On an immediate basis, 15,770/52,500 and 15,850/52,700 levels would be major hurdles. Below the levels of 15,550/51,700, the Nifty/Sensex would gradually fall to 15,400/51,300 or in the worst-case scenario 15,300/51,000.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities

Nifty fell due to the global event but contained its losses. Even the Asian markets clawed back post weak openings. However advance decline ratio in India remains severely negative for the second consecutive session. Nifty may fall some more to take support around 15,567 and then correct upwards. On rises, 15,750 may be difficult to breach sustainably in the near term. The fact that the big Fed announcement has passed by without any large damage to global indices means that there may not be a sharp downmove immediately and global markets may go back to their original trend soon; though the momentum on the upside may be weak till a fresh positive trigger emerges on the horizon. 

Mohit Nigam, Head, PMS - Hem Securities

Benchmark Indices Indices declined marginally while recovering from the intra-day low in today’s session. Both Nifty and Bank Nifty are moving on a narrow range while stock-specific action continues. Metal stocks are under pressure from yesterday’s session after the news that China will soon release some base metals from state stockpiles. Profit booking seen in Gold Finance stocks as the gold price fell to over a 1-month low. Immediate support and resistance are intact at 15,600 and 15,850 for Nifty 50.

Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director, Choice Broking

Technically, the index has confirmed the Evening Star candlestick pattern at the top of the trend which suggests correction in the counter. Moreover, the index has given closing below 21 SMA & Middle Bollinger Band formations, which indicates further bearishness for the near term. In addition, a momentum indicator RSI (14) & Stochastic witnessed a negative crossover on the daily time frame. At present, Nifty has immediate support at 15,550 levels, whereas 15,900 may act as a crucial resistance zone.

Rupee At Close | The rupee ended at down 76 paise at 74.08 per dollar against the previous close of 73.32. The local currency opened at 73.67 per dollar and remained in the range of 73.57-74.08 during the day.

Market At Close | Except Federal Bank & Kotak Bank, all Nifty Bank constituents close lower.

Market At Close | Market breadth favours declines; advance-decline ratio at 1:2

Market At Close | Market closes lower amid volatility after ‘Hawkish’ commentary from Fed. Broader markets underperform Sensex & Nifty; Midcap index & Nifty Bank down 1% each.

Market At Close | Here are the highlights of today’s trading session

- Market Closes Lower Amid Volatility After ‘Hawkish’ Commentary From Fed

- Broader Mkts Underperform Sensex & Nifty; Midcap Index & Nifty Bk Down 1% Each

- Sensex Falls 146 Points To 52,356 & Nifty 76 Points To 15,691

- Nifty Bank Slips 398 Pts To 34,605 & Midcap Index 332 Pts To 26,776

- Adani Group Remains Under Pressure With Stocks Falling 5-9%

- IT Stocks Gain In A Weak Trading Session As Rupee Slips Against US Dollar

- Except Federal Bank & Kotak Bank, All Nifty Bank Constituents Close Lower

- Max Finance Promoter Pares 2% Stake In Co; Stock Closes Off Highs

- Thyrocare In Focus On reports Of PharmEasy Eying A Stake In Co

- Gujarat Gas, UBL, ICICI Pru & Balkrishna Ind Amongst Top Midcap Gainers

- Indiabulls Hsg, M&M Fin, Ashok Leyland, REC, JSPL Top Midcap Losers

- Market Breadth Favours Declines; Advance-Decline Ratio At 1:2

Closing Bell | Indian equity benchmark indices ended lower Thursday dragged by heavy selling in metals and banking stocks. The Sesex fell 178.65 points, or 0.34 percent to 52,323.33, while the Nifty closed 76.15 points, or 0.48 percent lower at 15,691.40. Broader markets ended lower with Nifty Midcap100 and Smallcap100 falling 1.23 percent and 0.53 percent. Among sectors, Nifty Metal fell the most over 2 percent followed by Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Auto, Nifty Realty and Nifty Financial Services that fell over 1 percent each. Gains were seen in IT and FMCG sectors. On the Nifty50 index, Adani Ports & SEZ, Hindalco Industries, IndusInd Bank, Eicher Motors and NTPC led the losses, while UltraTech Cement, TCS, Infosys, Asian Paints, and Tech Mahindra were the top index gainers.

Nickel declines 8% from 2021 highs; expect near-term demand-supply imbalance to impact prices

It is the fourth straight day of decline in metal prices. However, there is some opportunity buying seen in metals like aluminium, lead, and zinc. Two metals which have continued to decline is copper and nickel. Copper is trading at a new 2-month low and reports suggest that near term demand and supply imbalance is putting pressure on nickel prices. Nickel prices have come off nearly 8 percent from its 2021 highs. From a high of nearly $19,300/tonne, it is trading below $17,500/tonne. However, the long term outlook is still strong on the back of electrical vehicle demand. According to a Nornickel report, 2021 will see a surplus of 52,000 tonne which is less than the earlier estimate of 90,000 tonne. Watch here.