What Happened With Market Today

Equity benchmarks logged their second-worst week in almost 10 months since the week ended February 26, 2021, dragged by broad-based losses across sectors barring information technology. Sensex lost nearly 900 points and Nifty fell over 250 points, posting their steepest single-day decline since December 6. There was all-around selling in the market, auto, metal, banking, real estate, cement sectors declined sharply. India Vix gained 3% to close at 16.33

Nifty slipped 263 points (1.5%) to close at below 17k of 16985 and Sensex declined 889 points (1.54%) to close at 57011. IndusInd Bank, Tata Motor, Hindustan Unilever, Kotak Bank, Titan, HDFC, and Axis Bank were major losers in the Nifty pack while Wipro, Infosys, and HCL Tech were major gainers.

Uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant continued FIIs selling and rising USDINR has a negative impact on the market. FIIs were net sellers of nearly Rs25000cr during the month of December. USDINR has closed a nearly 20-month high at 76 which is a concern in the market. European and Asian markets fell sharply following a decline in US shares led by the technology sector as tightening monetary policy to fight inflation buffets investor sentiment. Yesterday, the Bank of England hiked the interest rate by 15bps to 0.25%.

Among the major index, Nifty IT Index is the only major gainer today and surged over 1%. Interest-sensitive sectors like banking, auto, and realty stocks are witnessing profit booking on the expectation of a hike in interest rate. Nifty Realty Index witnessed the biggest loser today and declined by 4%. Bank Nifty slipped 2.6%, Nifty Auto, Pharma, Metal, and FMCG Index declined 2-3%. Nifty 500 stocks advance-decline ratio 1:7

Tech stocks recorded smart gain after Nasdaq listed Accenture announced strong quarterly results and rising earning guidance. Infosys gained 3% to close at Rs1821 amid 1.9cr shares traded on NSE. Shares of I.T. services firm Persistent Systems over 3% to close at Rs4640 amid hefty volume of 13 lakh shares traded on NSE. Persistent Systems has been selected by Germany’s ATOSS to transform its customer relationship management with the help of salesforce integrations. It has over 10,000 customers across the world. Wipro climbed up by 4% to close at Rs671. LTI, Mphasis, HCL Tech, and Coforge gained 1-2%.

Interest-sensitive sectors like banking, auto, and realty stocks witnessed profit booking on an expectation of a hike in interest rate. Yesterday, the Bank of England hiked the interest rate by 15bps to 0.25% while US Fed signals a three-quarter percent rate hike in the cards in 2022. PSU bank major SBI raised the lending base rate by 10bps to 7.55% from December 15. SBI’s move to hike the base rate comes just a few days after the RBI announced its decision to maintain the status quo on rates. IndusInd Bank slipped 5% to close at Rs883. SBI shed 3% to close at Rs468. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank, RBL Bank, and Axis Bank declined 2-4%.

NBFC stocks like Indiabulls Housing nosedived 8% to close at Rs233. Promoter Sameer Gehlaut to resign by March after stake sales over 11% to overseas funds worth Rs1400cr. Chola Finance, M&M Finance, and Shriram Transport Finance declined 3-5%.

Auto stocks like Tata Motor declined over 4% to close 470 and Maruti fell 2% to close at Rs7297. Hero Motocorp, M&M, Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor declined 2-4%. Real Estate stock like Indiabulls Real nosedived 7% to close at Rs157. Mactrotech Developers slipped 6% to close at Rs1184. DLF, Sobha, Prestige, and Oberoi Realty declined 3-5%.

Technical Outlook:

The nifty index opened flattish but failed to surpass 17300 zones and fell sharply to break its psychological 17000 marks. Bears completely overruled the market and selling pressure was visible at all key levels. It tried to recover in the second half but failed to hold and closed with losses of around 260 points. It formed a strong Bearish candle on a daily scale and has been forming lower lows from the last five sessions. It formed a Bearish candle on a weekly frame but respected its previous week’s low levels. Now till it remains below 17100 zones, weakness could be seen towards 16800 then 16500 zones whereas major hurdle exists at 17200 and 17350 zones.

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