Taking Stock: Nifty ends above 22,800 on late buying; Sensex sheds 143 points
The broader markets underperformed the benchmark indices, with the Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices declining more than 2 percent each.
Indian benchmark indices remained under pressure for the second consecutive session on Wednesday, October 21, as selling across most sectors weighed on sentiment amid elevated crude oil prices and concerns over corporate earnings. The markets opened higher and traded in positive territory for the first couple of hours before profit booking in late-morning trade erased the gains. The selling pressure dragged the Nifty below 22,650, with auto, metal and consumer durables indices emerging among the worst-performing sectors, each declining around 2 percent.
However, gains in Information Technology stocks helped the benchmark indices recover from the day's lows and end the session off their intraday lows. At close, the Sensex was down 143.21 points or 0.19 percent at 73,709.69, and the Nifty was down 77.60 points or 0.34 percent at 22,811.35. The broader markets underperformed the benchmark indices, with the Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices declining more than 2 percent each.
Bajaj Finance, Eicher Motors, Eternal, BSE, Bajaj Auto were among major losers on the Nifty, while gainers included Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS, HCL Technologies and UltraTech Cement. On the sectoral front, IT index rose 2.5 percent, while auto, consumer durables, energy, media, metal, pharma, realty, private bank were down 1-2 percent. Among individual stocks, Transrail Lighting shares rose 3 percent on acquiring 49 percent stake in NOPL Pace Green Energy, L&T Technology Services surged 10 percent on better Q2 earnings, while Hindustan Zinc shares were down 2.5 percent post Q2 earnings.
Waaree Renewable Technologies shares slipped 10 percent as the company's profit fell 30 percent and Piramal Finance shares gained 3.5 percent after Q2 profit surged a 67 percent. Among other stocks, Infosys share price added more than 3 percent after IT company announced the expansion of its collaboration with Truist, while SML Mahindra shed 10 percent and Just Dial shares added 5 percent after Q2 earnings.
Gallantt Ispat shares added 2 percent despite reporting 32 percent year-on-year fall in its consolidated Q2 profit. The Indian rupee strengthened for the eighth consecutive session on October 21, gaining 46 paise to close at 94.46 per dollar, compared with the previous close of 94.92. More than 150 stocks touched 52-week low, including Sobha, Muthoot Finance, PI Industries, Yes Bank, SJVN, GMDC, Jupiter Wagons, Trident, Swiggy, Reliance Power, Tube Investment, TVS Holdings, Rashtriya Chemicals, Sammaan Capital, NBCC (India), Bikaji Foods, EID Parry, HDB Financial, KEC International, Voltas, among others.
Click to View More HD Fire Protect shares ended 11.5 percent higher at Rs 302.40 after making a strong stock market debut, listing at a premium of around 24 percent at Rs 334 against its IPO price of Rs 271 per share. Outlook for October 22 Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities After the sharp reversal down from the crucial overhead resistance around 23100 levels on Monday, Nifty could not sustain the Intraday bounce on Wednesday and slipped into follow-through weakness amidst volatility.
Wednesday's weakness was accopmpanied by negative overall market breadth as bleeding observed in broad market indices like midcap, small cap and microcap sectors. A long bear candle was formed on the daily chart with upper and lower shadow. This market action signals an emergence of selling pressure from near the crucial hurdle of 23100 levels and minor buying around 22600. Presently, Nifty is placed at the edge of breaking below the support of previous broken resistance around 22750-22700 levels as per change in polarity principle.
Further weakness below this support could drag Nifty down to the next lows of 22300-22200 in the near term. However, any bounce could find key resistance around 23000-23100 levels. Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Neo The benchmark indices saw continued profit booking at higher levels. The Nifty closed 78 points lower, while the Sensex fell by 143 points. Among sectors, the Chemical and Defense indices declined nearly 2.5 percent.
Despite weak sentiment, the IT index outperformed, gaining over 2.85 percent. Technically, after opening with a gap-up, the market slipped below 23,000/74500, with selling pressure intensifying after the breakdown. From the day's high, the market dropped nearly 470/1450 points before recovering some losses in the final hour. On the daily chart, the index formed a bearish candle, while the intraday lower-top formation suggests a broadly negative setup.
For day traders, the 20-day SMA (Simple Moving Average), along with 22,800/73700 and 22,750/73500, would act as key support zones. If the market holds above these levels, it could rebound toward 22,950-23,000/74000-74500. Conversely, selling pressure is likely to intensify below 22,750/73500, potentially pushing the market toward 22,600-22,550/73000-72800. Given the current volatility, level-based trading would be the preferred strategy for day traders.
