The Indian stock market experienced a selling pressure in the Wednesday trading session after the benchmark indices, Nifty and Sensex along with other sectoral indices shredded in the session. The election proximity fuelled the nervousness among the investors as well as close watch on global macro factors.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty 50 index ended 0.80 per cent lower at 22,704, whereas the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex also settled lower at 74,502 levels with 0.89 per cent loss on the closing bell.
Nifty Moves
In the Nifty50 index, merely 13 stocks ended with gains while 37 stocks fell into the red territory.
In the 50-stocks index, Hindalco claimed the top position with 3.52 per cent gain after its US-based subsidiary, Novelis revealed its IPO size. Power Grid, Divis Lab and Nestle India also gained more than 1 per cent.
Conversely, in the laggard segment, Insurers HDFC Life and SBI Life lost 2.87 per cent and 2.62 per cent respectively. ICICI Bank, Tata Consumers, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank and BPCL also lost more than 2 per cent.
Analyst Note
From a technical standpoint, Nifty has breached the neckline of the recent breakout and is now heading towards the mean of the 'rising channel' at 22,600, followed by the 20-day EMA at 22,500, which is to be considered as the crucial support level. On the higher end, the bearish gap of 22,825 to 22,860 is to be seen as an intermediate hurdle, while the sturdy wall stays at the 23,000 mark,” said Osho Krishan, Sr. Analyst- Technical & Derivative Research, Angel One.
Lately, our markets have appeared to be catching up with the US markets, and hence, we should keep a close eye on their developments. In the meantime, given the persistence of the uncertainty, it is advisable to avoid being aggressive and wait for the volatility to subside. Also, maintaining firm risk management is prudent in the current challenging market scenario, added Krishan.
Sectoral Movement
In terms of sectoral performance, IT, Banks and Finance booked a bad day as the indices slumped more than 1 per cent. Realty also lost nearly 1 per cent, while FMCG and PSU Banks lost nearly half a per cent. However, Pharma traded highest with 0.55 per cent gain followed by 0.27 per cent gain in Metals.
The more domestically focussed indices, mid-cap dipped 0.32 per cent, while small-cap index stayed unchanged with 0.06 per cent fluctuation in the session.
Stocks Specific
IRCTC lost 3.7 per cent to Rs 1,042 after the railway PSU posted Q4 earnings with muted growth.
Amara Raja Energy also lost 2.77 per cent to Rs 1,213 after the battery manufacturer missed estimates in Q4 earnings. The firm posted Rs 2.28 billion net profit against the expectations of Rs 2.33 billion.
Mtar Technologies plummeted more than 10 per cent to Rs 1,837 after the firm’s consolidated profit fell to 85 per cent year-on-year (YoY), while revenue dropped 27 per cent.
NBCC gained 2.5 per cent to Rs 142.25 after the engineering and construction company reported a rise in Q4 earnings. The firm posted net profit of Rs 136 crore against Rs 108 crore in the same period last year.