Biggest Nifty losers were Axis Bank, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Bajaj Finance, Trent, Infosys, while gainers included JSW Steel, Eicher Motors, SBI, L&T and ONGC.
Indian benchmark indices snapped their two-day winning streak and witnessed heavy selling on October 19, amid elevated crude oil prices, weak global cues and selling in private banking stocks following disappointing earnings. After a muted start to the week, selling pressure intensified, dragging the Nifty below the 22,900 mark to an intraday low of 22,845. Sectoral indices traded largely in the red, with the PSU Bank index bucking the trend.
At close, the Sensex was down 876.37 points or 1.17 percent at 73,852.90, and the Nifty was down 257.20 points or 1.11 percent at 22,888.95. Markets will remain shut on Tuesday, October 20 on account of Dussehra. The broader markets also remained under pressure with Nifty midcap and smallcap indices fell 1 percent each. Biggest Nifty losers were Axis Bank, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Bajaj Finance, Trent, Infosys, while gainers included JSW Steel, Eicher Motors, SBI, L&T and ONGC.
Except PSU Bank (gained 2.2%), all other sectoral indices ended in the red with FMCG index down 1.2%, IT index down 1.3% and Private Bank index shed 1.8 percent. Among individual stocks, shares of HDFC Bank gained 2% after Q2 earnings, while Urban Company declined 9% after its Q2 consolidated loss widened. Shares of Le Travenues Technology (Ixigo) gained 10% after company turned profitable, while Adroit Infotech share price rose 5% as company to acquire a majority stake in Croatia-based Verso Altima Group.
Zen Technologies shares fell nearly 2% after board approved to acquire a 51.98% stake in defence technology company Cogknit Semantics. Among other stocks, Bharat Forge shares declined more than 3% after the company invested Rs 240 crore in subsidiary Kalyani Strategic Systems through a rights issue, while shares of Axis Bank shed nearly 4% despite the bank reported a 35.6% year-on-year jump in standalone Q2 profit.
Shares of JSW Steel gained nearly 2% after NCLT sanctioned the scheme of amalgamation. The Indian rupee ended marginally higher at 94.92 per dollar on October 19, extending its winning streak to a seventh consecutive session, compared with the previous close of 94.95. More than 150 stocks touched 52-week low, including SJVN, Reliance Power, India Cements, Jupiter Wagons, Medplus Health, TVS Holdings, KEC International, Rashtriya Chemicals, Voltas, Eris Life, Gujarat Energy, Vishal Mega Marts, Britannia Industries, Avenue Supermarts, Max Healthcare, HDB Financial, Alkem Lab, UTI AMC, Natco Pharma, Fortis Health, among others.
Click to View More Outlook for October 21 Vatsal Bhuva, Technical Analyst at LKP Securities Nifty formed a long bearish candlestick as selling pressure emerged near the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level at 23,186, measured from the August 3 high to the October 8 low. The index also breached the crucial 23,000 support, indicating continued weakness. Immediate support is placed at 22,800–22,820, near its daily 20-SMA.
A break below 22,650–22,700 could further intensify selling pressure. Index traders should remain cautious, keeping 22,800 as key support and 23,000–23,186 as resistance. Long positions built during the mean-reversion rally should be reviewed, with a break below 22,600 levels. Abhinav Tiwari Research Analyst at Bonanza The Indian market ended on a negative note breaking a two day winning streak as heavy selling in private banks and continued foreign investor outflows weakened market sentiment.
The Sensex closed at around 73,853, down 876 points compared to previous session, while the Nifty closed down 257 points and closed at 22,889. Private banking stocks were the biggest contributors to the market fall. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank together accounted for more than half of the Sensex decline. Axis Bank fell around 5% despite reporting a 39.4% YoY rise in consolidated net profit.
HDFC Bank fell nearly 3% despite a 4.7% increase in net profit. However, PSU banks performed better following strong quarterly results. Union Bank gained around 5%, supported by a 30% YoY rise in Q2 profit, while Karur Vysya Bank touched a lifetime high. Markets are likely to remain volatile in the near term. Crude oil prices, FPI flows, geopolitical developments and upcoming Q2 earnings will remain key factors influencing market sentiment.
