Indices drop for 2nd day; Sensex dips 397 pts; metals, IT gain, banks hit

Stock market updates: Bears remained in the driver's seat for the second straight day on Monday as a cocktail of weak macroeconomic data, resurgence in Covid-19 infections, elevated crude prices, and jump in bond yields weighed on sentiment. 

On the domestic front, industrial production growth re-entered the negative territory by contracting 1.6 per cent in January, while retail inflation soared to a three-month high of 5.03 per cent in February on costlier food items. That apart, WPI inflation came in at a 27-month high of 4.17 per cent in February, up from 2.03 per cent in January. 

This comes on close heels of consistent rise in Covid-19 cases in the country. India recorded 26,291 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, its highest single-day spike in 85 days, taking the country's infection tally to 1,13,85,339, according to Union Health Ministry data. Moreover, the latest concerns surrounding the AstraZeneca vaccine and suspension of its use in some nations in Europe added to investors' woes. READ ABOUT IT HERE

Globally, the 10-year US Treasuries yield stood at 1.634 per cent, having risen to as high as 1.642 per cent on Friday, a high last seen in February last year. Besides, Brent crude was back near $70 a barrel mark. 

Against this backdrop, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 397 points, or 0.78 per cent, to end the day at 50,395 levels. In the intra-day deals, the index had plunged 993 points to hit a low of 49,799.

Index breadth remained tilted towards declines with 19 of the 30 stocks ending the session in the red. Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Dr Reddy's Labs, Bajaj Auto, M&M, L&T, and Asian Paints closed the day as the top laggards on the index while Power Grid, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, Titan, IndusInd Bank, SBI, and TCS closed as top gainers.

On the NSE, the Nifty50 index ended at 14,929 levels, down 101 points or 0.67 per cent. In the intra-day deals, the index slipped below the 14,750 levels to hit a low 14,746.

Weightage-wise, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC, Bajaj Finance, L&T, Axis Bank, Infosys, and Asian Paints, down between 0.6 per cent and 3 per cent, dragged the indices lower today.

The broader markets, however, outperformed the benchmark indices and closed with relatively lesser cuts. The S&P BSE MidCap index closed at 20,429 levels, down 0.72 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended at 21,096 levels, down 0.53 per cent.

In terms of sectoral performance, banking and financial services stocks were the hardest hit as rising yields as negative implications for the G-Sec bonds that the banks/NBFCs hold. In the intra-day trade, the Nifty Bank index hit an intra-day low of 34,443.90, its lowest level since February 4, 2021. At close, the index was at 35,182, down 0.88 per cent.

The Nifty Pharma, Realty, and Financial Services indices closed 1 per cent lower each. On the upside, last-hour gains in the Nifty IT, FMCG, Metal, and PSU Bank indices, up 0.04 per cent to 1 per cent, trimmed losses in the market.

Global markets

European stocks rose on Monday with optimism about a strong economic rebound calming concerns about quickening inflation.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.7 per cent in early trading, inching closer to a record peak set last year. 

In Asia, S&P 500 futures rose 0.2 per cent, just below the record high level touched last week. The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, was also up 0.1 per cent.

Mainland Chinese shares, however, dropped despite data showing a quickening in industrial output and a rise in retail sales, with bluechip CSI 300 index falling 2.2 per cent on policy tightening worries.

(With inputs from Reuters) 

4:53 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Shrikant Chouhan, Executive Vice President, Equity Technical Research at Kotak Sec

The market has once again recovered strongly. The market is not ready to give up easily. The uptrend from 14745/49800 stopped directly at 14950/50500 and the Bank Nifty improved by 800 points from the bottom. If the Nifty goes into an improper correction, there could be severe short covering above 15100/51000 levels and in that case, again the possibilities of hitting 15350/15450 (51650/51850) would turn bright. It would be better if we stay stock-specific until then. If the market goes down again, 14800/14750 (49800/50000) would be the best support. Today the trend was strong in Bank Nifty and metal stocks, which is positive for the market.

4:36 PM

TECH VIEW :: Ashis Biswas, Head of Technical Research at CapitalVia Global Research

The market witnessed some swift recovery from its short-term support around the Nifty50 Index level of 14800 in the market. the expected level should range between 14950 and 15300, and it’s going to crucial for the short-term market scenario to sustain above the 14800 to keep the long-term uptrend intact. While it is subject to further price action evolution, it is prudent to wait for a decisive breakout above 15000 and technical factors to improve before going long in the market.  The traders are advised to refrain from building a new buying position until further improvement is seen and a breakout above 15000. volatility is observed to expand in today’s trading session.

4:22 PM

TECH VIEW :: Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director at Choice Broking

Technically, the benchmark index has tested Horizontal Line & 50 days Simple Moving Averages and pulled back from there, which indicates immediate support zone for the near term. Moreover, on an hourly chart the index has reversed from Lower Bollinger Band formation, which suggests a reversal in the counter. At present, the Nifty index has an immediate resistance at 15150 levels while downside support comes at 14750 levels.

4:14 PM

TECH VIEW :: Rohit Singre, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities

Index opened a day with mild gains but failed to sustain on the positive side & seen sharp slide and closed a day on a negative note at 14929 with loss of nearly one percent. The index showed some pullback after touching its rising trend line on the daily chart, going forward 14750 will be immediate & strong  support if managed to hold then some more pullback possible towards immediate hurdle zone of 15k mark followed by 15100 zone

4:03 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

Weakness in national macro data and rise in global bond yield ahead of the crucial FED monetary policy meeting dented domestic momentum. Both the inflations of retail and wholesale, inclined higher than estimated while industrial production de-grew in January 2021. However, optimism in European & other Asian markets helped to recover from the sharp initial losses. We can expect this volatility to stabilize based on the global outlook post a confirmation from FED to maintain an accommodative policy

3:56 PM

MARKET RECAP :: S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities

Markets opened in the red on the back of weak cues and drifted lower on higher WPI and partial lockdown in certain states. However, a spirited rally in Metals & IT stocks in Afternoon Trade with support from Financials helped Indices recoup part of the losses

3:54 PM

IPO Alert :: Anupam Rasayan subscribed 2x till 3:40 PM on Day 2 of the issue

3:53 PM

IPO Alert :: Craftsman Automation subscribed 42% till 3:40 PM on Day 1of the issue

3:52 PM

IPO Alert :: Laxmi Organics subscribed 1.7x till 3:40 PM on Day 1of the issue

3:50 PM

BUZZING STOCK :: Vaibhav Global ends 6% higher

>> Shares of Vaibhav Global hit a new high of Rs 4,513 after they rallied 8.5 per cent on the BSE in intra-day trade on Monday in an otherwise weak market. In the past three months, the stock has zoomed 115 per cent after it reported a strong operational performance for the quarter ended December 2020 (Q3FY21). In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex has risen 7.7 per cent during the same period.

3:45 PM

NEW STOCK ON THE BLOCK :: MTAR Tech ends 88% higher against issue price

3:42 PM

Stocks that dragged the Sensex lower today

3:41 PM

Sectoral trends on the NSE

3:39 PM

Sensex Heatmap at Close

3:35 PM

CLOSING BELL

Against this backdrop, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 397 points, or 0.78 per cent, to end the day at 50,395 levels. In the intra-day deals, the index had plunged 993 points to hit a low of 49,799. 

 

On the NSE, the Nifty50 index ended at 14,929 levels, down 101 points or 0.67 per cent. In the intra-day deals, the index slipped below the 14,750 levels too hit a low 14,746.