What happened with the Share Market Today

Equity benchmark Sensex slipped over 500 points on highly volatile trading and fell for the six trading sessions on account of weak global markets and continued FIIs selling. Moreover, the market witnessed a cautious approach ahead of the RBI policy outcome on Friday and the September series F&O expiry tomorrow.  Sensex fell 509 points or 1 percent to settle at 56,598. During the day, it tanked 622 points or 1.1 percent to 56,486 while it recovered entire intra-day losses in the mid-day session to touch a high of 57213 (yesterday closing 57108). Similarly, the Nifty declined 149 points, or nearly 1 percent to end at 16,856 while touching an intra-day high of 17038. Hindalco, Jindal Steel, ITC, Reliance, Axis Bank, and Tata Steel were major losers among the Nifty stocks while Asian Paints, Sun Pharm, Dr Reddy, and Eicher Motor were among the major gainers. Metal and financial stocks were major losers today. However, select IT and Pharma stocks witnessed fresh buying.

 Nifty slipped 900 points or over 5% in the last six trading sessions. There was a negative sentiment in the market on account of weakness in the global markets. Moreover, aggressive FIIs selling and record high USDINR have dampened the market sentiment. FIIs were net selling over Rs14000cr in the last six trading sessions and USDINR surged to nearly 82 which is a major concern in the market. Among the global markets, Both Dow Jones and S&P 500 fell to a 2-year low after the US Fed official said more rate hikes are needed and the risks to the economy remain elevated. Both Asia and European markets declined between 1-2% today after a slew of hawkish Federal Reserve speakers stoked fears about the path of rate hikes and aggressively fight inflation along with a spiked US Dollar Index. US 10-Year Yield spiked to a 14-year high at nearly 4% and Dollar Index surged to a multi-year high of above 114.

The southbound journey continued on metal stocks due to weak global demand. Nifty metal Index slipped by 2% to close at one month low. Hindalco slipped over 3% to close at Rs361. Tata Steel, SAIL, Jindal Steel, and JSW Steel slipped 2-3%.

Banking stocks declined ahead of the RBI policy meeting on Friday and rising 10-Year G-Sec Yield. The expectation of RBI is to hike the interest rate by 50bps. Private bank major Axis Bank slipped 3% to close at Rs716. It has 1.67cr shares or a 0.5% equity block deal today. PNB, AU Bank, SBI, Bandhan Bank, Indusind Bank, and HDFC Bank declined between 2-5%.

Pharma stocks witnessed fresh buying on account of attractive valuation and traders prefer defensive stocks in the volatile market. Nifty declined by one percent while Nifty Healthcare Index gained by 1%. Dr. Reddy gained over 2% to close at Rs4270 after the news that the Nasdaq listed IQVIA announced a partnership with Dr. Reddy’s Lab for a CRM solution for the India field force. Strides gained over 4% to close at Rs320. Zydus Life advances 2% to close at Rs369. Sun Pharma, Biocon, and Lupin gained 2% each.

Technical Outlook:
The nifty index opened a gap down by 136 points and after a slight recovery in the first half of the session, it again slipped. It tested an intraday low of 16820 zones and closed near the lowest part of the day with losses of around 150 points. It formed a small-bodied Bearish candle on a daily scale with a long upper shadow indicating pressure at higher zones. It has been making lower highs – lower lows in the last six trading sessions. Now, till it remains below 17000 zones, weakness may be seen towards 16666 and 16500 zones whereas hurdles are placed at 17071 and 17166 zones.