Indices snap 10-day winning streak; Sensex tanks 264 pts; ITC, RIL drop 3%

Bears gained ground in last hour of trade and brought the indices' 10-day gaining streak to a screeching halt on Wednesday as heavyweight stocks such as Reliance Industries, Infosys, ITC, TCS, and HUL witnessed sharp profit booking. That apart, weak global cues heavily weighed on the investor sentiment. 

In the US, prospects of Democrats winning both seats in a US Senate run-off election in Georgia, paving way for President-elect Joe Biden to push through greater corporate regulation and higher taxes in the States, worried investors. Nasdaq 100 Futures tumbled over 200 points or nearly 2 per cent at 3 pm indicating a sombre start on Wall Street later today.

Meanwhile, rising coronavirus concerns in Asia further hit sentiment. Chinese authorities on Wednesday imposed travel restrictions and banned gatherings in the capital city of Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, to stave off another coronavirus wave. On the other hand, local media reports have suggested that the Japan government is set to declare a month-long emergency, till February 7, in Tokyo and surrounding areas amid record cases of Covid-19.

Back home, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex tanked 264 points, or 0.54 per cent, to settle the day at 48,174 levels. In the intra-day session, the index had slumped 750 points from fresh record high of 48,616 levels to hit a low of 47,864. ITC and Reliance Industries skid 3 per cent each on the BSE, ending the day as top drags. Other large-caps, down up to 2 per cent, were Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, HCL Tech, and TCS.

On the upside, Powergrid surged 4 per cent and closed as top gainer on the Sensex. 

The NSE's Nifty50, meanwhile, slipped below the 14,150-mark and ended the session at 14,146, down 53 points or 0.38 per cent. From the new peak of 14,244, the index dropped 200 points to hit a low of 14,040.

Nifty IT and Nifty FMCG indices were the top sectoral losers on the NSE, down over 1 per cent each. On the contrary, Nifty Metal index managed to close 1 per cent higher.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended the day in the green, up 0.4 per cent at 18,749 level. However, the S&P BSE SmallCap index closed at 18,614 level, down 0.14 per cent.

Global markets

European stocks edged higher on Wednesday, led by economically sensitive sectors such as banks and energy. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.2 per cent, while UK's FTSE 100 rose 0.7 per cent, and Germany's DAX gained 0.2 per cent.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei ended 0.4 per cent lower, South Korea's Kospi lost 0.75 per cent, and Australia's S&P/200 index declined 1.1 per cent.

(With inputs from Reuters)

 

4:20 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Sahaj Agrawal, Head of Research- Derivatives at Kotak Securities

Nifty trades around the 14100; midcap stocks have outperformed in the recent past and select stocks continue to remain in momentum. We believe within the structural up-move, interim correction phase is expected to play out. Expect volatility to increase significantly in the near term. There has been a shift in positions/interest from frontline stocks to the midcap space which usually in followed by a correction. FMCG stocks look attractive while Metals and Banking are expected to witness volatility. Traders are advised to keep leverage in control while investors can wait for a meaningful dip to buy aggressively.

3:54 PM

TECH VIEW :: Rohit Singre, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities

Index opened a day with gap up but failed to hold the gains and saw profit booking and closed a day on a negative note at 14134 with loss of half a per cent and formed hanging man candle pattern which is bearish reversal candle pattern by nature. Now going ahead 14040 will be good support any break below said levels can show some more cuts in the index and on the higher side 14180-14230 zone will be strong resistance further upside-only possible if index managed to sustain above-said levels

 

3:49 PM

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

Market is experiencing volatility due to weak Asian market and profit booking owing to rich valuation. Banking stocks are supportive, led by good loan growth data for Q3FY21, announced by key private banks. In the near-term, trend of the broad market will depend a lot on FII inflows while stock specific actions will be based on Q3 result, which is about to pick up.

 

3:49 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities

A volatile session of trade today as the situation in EU tempered optimism with pivotal like RIL & ITC giving way. However, improvement in High-Frequency Indicators and the Impending Vaccination has ensured brisk FII flows into India even as other Emerging Markets witnessed outflows

3:48 PM

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

The market witnessed some lackluster movement. Nifty 50 Index is still trading below the resistance level of 14,250-14,270. The research suggests breakout above 14,270 is critical to keep the long-term positive trend, intact. The market observed volatility to expand in today’s trading session indicating profit booking and distribution of stocks at a higher market level. The investors to buy on a breakout of 14,270 and look for an exit around 14,680-14,710. Overall, the investor should maintain a stop at 14,040.

3:47 PM

Market stats :: Market breadth remains around 1:1

3:45 PM

MARKET INSIGHTS :: Top losers on the BSE at close

3:45 PM

MARKET INSIGHTS :: Top gainers on the BSE at close

3:44 PM

S&P BSE MidCap index ends in the green

3:42 PM

Nifty Metal index outperforms benchmarks, ends 1% higher

3:40 PM

Sectoral trends on NSE :: Nifty IT, FMCG indices end as top losers

3:39 PM

Sensex Heatmap :: RIL, Tech stocks drag indices

3:33 PM

CLOSING BELL

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex tanked 264 points, or 0.54 per cent, to settle the day at 48,174 levels. In the intra-day session, the index had slumped 750 points from fresh record high of 48,616 levels to hit a low of 47,864. 

 

The NSE's Nifty50, meanwhile, slipped below the 14,150-mark and ended the session at 14,133, down 66 points or 0.47 per cent. From the new peak of 14,244, the index dropped 200 points to hit a low of 14,040.

3:28 PM

Power Finance Corp to sell bonds worth $1.4 billion to individual investors

India’s biggest lender to the power sector plans to sell bonds to individual investors as it tries to attract savers dissatisfied with deposit rates at a 16-year low.

 

Power Finance Corp. has filed a draft prospectus for a 100-billion-rupee offering ($1.4 billion), and plans to raise the entire sum this quarter, according to Parminder Chopra, director (finance). READ MORE

3:21 PM

BUZZING :: TBZ locked in 20% upper circuit