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Benchmark indices closed lower for the second consecutive session on Wednesday.
Market opened on a weak note, tracking global cues. Indices extended losses during the day, witnessing selling pressure across multiple counters, tracking losses in heavyweights HDFC amid profit-booking.
The BSE Sensex closed at 59,610.41, down 566.09 points or 0.94 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 59,941.57 and a low of 59,509.84. The Nifty 50 closed at 17,807.65, down 149.75 points or 0.83 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 17,901.00 and a low of 17,779.85.
Breadth remains positive
The market breadth remained positive with 2,163 stocks advancing on the BSE as against 1,250 that declined while 99 remained unchanged. Furthermore, eight stocks hit the upper circuit as compared to the six stocks that were locked in the lower circuit. Besides, 183 stocks touched a 52-week high level and nine touched a 52-week low.
S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities, said, “On a day when the HDFC twins witnessed profit booking, several interesting trends were visible in trade despite benchmark indices losing almost a percentage in afternoon trade.”
“Investors seem to put ESG on the back burner for a while when free cash flows and positive tailwinds emerge stronger. While metal stocks saw keen interest supported by cooling coking coal prices, power stocks were in high demand ahead of the surge in summer demand. The broader markets displayed buoyancy with advances outnumbering declines as PSU banks, sugar, paper and hospitality stocks were keenly sought after today,” Ranganathan said.
Coal India, NTPC, Tata Steel, Powergrid and BPCL were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 while HDFC Bank, HDFC, HDFC Life, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra were the top losers.
Concerns regarding rising inflation and aggressive monetary tightening by the US Fed have kept investors on edge, apart from the uncertainty over the Russia-Ukraine crisis. According to analysts, besides the current headwinds, investors and traders will also focus on the three-day RBI monetary policy meet, which starts today.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said, “The main indices are muted due to drop in HDFC group stocks after the rally, the subdued performance of the IT sector in anticipation of weak results on a quarter-on-quarter basis and weak global cues. The broad market has maintained its momentum due to the good performance of mid- and small-caps. We can expect volatility in the near term, ahead of the RBI policy meet, which is expected to hold the rates but increase inflation forecast.”
Metals, oil and gas in focus
On the sectoral front, a majority of the indices closed in the red. While IT, financials, barring PSU bank, dragged, metals and oil and gas gained.
Nifty IT was down 1.63 per cent while Nifty Financials was down 1.59 per cent. Nifty Bank and Nifty Private Bank were each down over 1 per cent. Meanwhile Nifty PSU Bank closed nearly 2 per cent higher.
Nifty Metal was up over 1 per cent while Nifty Oil & Gas was up 0.88 per cent.
Broader indices
Broader indices continued to outperform the benchmarks.
Nifty Midcap 50 was up 0.56 per cent at closing while Nifty Smallcap 50 was up 0.22 per cent. The S&P BSE Midcap was up 0.41 per cent while the S&P BSE Smallcap was up 0.38 per cent.
The volatility index rose 2.89 per cent to 19.02.
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