The markets witnessed some profit-taking after scaling to fresh 30-month highs. The Sensex touched a high of 18,454, and then slipped to a low of 17,944. The index finally settled with a loss of 403 points at 17,998.
Among index stocks, Jaiprakash Associates slumped over nine per cent to Rs 112. Reliance Infrastructure, Hindalco and DLF tumbled around eight per cent each. Hero Honda, Sterlite, Tata Power, HDFC Bank, Reliance, Wipro and ICICI Bank were the other major losers. On the other hand, ONGC surged nearly five per cent to Rs 1,318. Bharti Airtel and NTPC were the other notable gainers.
Going forward, the index has near support at 17,940 on the daily charts, while weekly charts indicate support around 17,560. On the higher side, the index is likely to face resistance around 18,200.
The Nifty moved in a range of 158 points — from a high of 5,550, the index dropped to a low of 5,392, and finally settled with a loss of 122 points at 5,409.
The support for the Nifty on the daily charts is at 5,380, while resistance is around 5,460. On weekly charts, the index may seek support around 5,270 (which is the short-term moving average) and below which the index may dip to 5,135.
If the index breaks below 5,380, the probability of it dropping to lower levels, viz 5,270 and 5,135, remains high in the coming trading sessions.
