Sensex down 571 pts, Nifty below 19,750 on hawkish Fed, Indo-Canada tension

Closing Bell on Thursday, September 21: The broad-based selling was led by public sector banks with the Nifty PSU Bank index sliding 2.3 per cent

bear market, sensex, nifty, loss, growth, investment

Stock market highlights: Equity markets reeled under selling pressure for a second straight day on Thursday, the day of weekly F&O expiry as well, after the US Federal Reserve's tighter policy through 2024 spooked investors. Besides, escalating diplomatic tensions between India and Canada also dampened sentiment.

The S&P BSE Sensex sank 571 points, or 0.85 per cent, to end at 66,230, while the Nifty50 shut shop at 19,742, down 159 points or 0.8 per cent.

The broad-based selling was led by public sector banks with the Nifty PSU Bank index sliding 2.3 per cent. This was followed by up to 1.7 per cent sell-off in Nifty Auto, Bank, Financial Services, and Realty indices.

Among individual stocks, M&M, ICICI Bank, Cipla, State Bank of India, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Bank, Grasim, LTIMindtree, HCL Tech, Power Grid, ITC, NTPC were the large-cap losers, down up to 3 per cent.

In the broader markets, Greenlam Industries, DB Realty, Transformers and Rectifiers India, Punjab and Sind Bank, SJVN, Uco Bank, NHPC, Glenmark Pharma, JSW Energy, and IRFC tumbled in the range of 3 per cent to 13 per cent.

Overall, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices fell 1 per cent each.

The market breadth was negative with over 2,300 declining stocks on the BSE as against 1,300 advancing stocks. The m-cap of all BSE listed companies is down to Rs 318 trillion from a peak of Rs 324 trillion last week.

4:18 PM

Comment :: 'Selling may take breather but upside capped'

Nifty has tested the short-term moving i.e. 20 EMA and also retraced almost fifty percent of the recent up move. It may take a breather now but the upside seems capped citing the underperformance of select heavyweights. We thus recommend staying stock-specific with a focus on risk management.

Views by: Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking

4:05 PM

Tech View :: Charts show 'sell' signal for Nifty, Bank Nifty

Nifty50

On the daily charts, we can observe that the Nifty is in the process of retracing the rise it has witnessed from 19,223 – 20,222. It has now reached the zone of 19,720 – 19,680, where support is in the form of the 20-day moving average, and the 50% Fibonacci retracement level is placed.

We expect Nifty to hold on to this support and provide a pullback. The daily momentum indicator today has provided a negative crossover which is a sell signal and is now in sync with the price action. In terms of levels, 19,680 – 19,604 is the crucial support zone while 19,850 – 19,900 shall act as an immediate hurdle zone.

Bank Nifty

Bank Nifty has witnessed a sharp correction today and, in the process, has breached the 20 and 40 day moving averages which is a sign of weakness. The daily momentum indicator has a negative crossover which is a sell signal. On the downside, we expect it to target levels of 44,500 – 44,360 which coincides with the 20 week moving average and the 78.6% fibonacci retracement level.

Views by: Jatin Gedia – Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas

3:57 PM

Comment :: Factors behind today's market fall

Domestic market declined following a hawkish stance by the Fed chair and prolonged high interest rate trajectory, which is not positive for a slowing global economy.

PSU Banks and Mid & Smallcaps were the worst hit due to stretched valuations and concern over moderation in yields. Rising oil prices and erratic rainfall further led investors to stay cautious in the market.

Views by: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

3:50 PM