Domestic market opened lower on Friday’s early trade. BSE Sensex was down by 477.79 pts or 0.66 per cent to trade at 72,011.20 as of 9.31 am, and Nifty 50 declined by 165 pts or 0.75 per cent to trade at 21,830.85.
All sectoral indices traded in the negative territory. Nifty realty, PSU bank, IT, auto, and media declined over 1 per cent as of 9.33 am. Nifty bank fell 0.58 per cent to trade at 46,794.15.
As of 9.51 am, Nifty IT declined by 1.54 per cent to trade at 33,002.50. Major losers include Infosys, HCL Technologies, and LTIMindtree.
Commenting on the nifty outlook, Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said, “Reports of the feared escalation of the Iran-Israel tensions have spooked the markets. Distinct weakness in Asian markets and sharp cuts in US futures reflect heightened nervousness in equity markets. There are headwinds from the bond markets, too.”
Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities, said, “If the market trades below 21900/72200, it may slip to 21700-21500- 21300/71650-71100-70500. If it sustains above 21700/71600, it could lift back the market to 22000/72500 levels. Bank-Nifty may fall further to 46500, 46000, or 45500 (200 days SMA) levels if it falls below 47000.”
“For traders, it is advisable to trade short if the market bounces to 21900/22000 levels with a tight stop loss at 22100. It is advisable to buy select stocks between 21500-21300 levels for medium to long-term investment,” Chouhan added.
Stocks to watch
The stocks that were top gainers on the NSE were ONGC (1.71 per cent), Apollo Hospitals (1.17%), ITC (0.91%), Adani Ports (0.54%), and Adani Enterprises (0.42%). Meanwhile, BPCL (-3.16%), Axis Bank (-2.52%), Bajaj Auto (-2.32%), and HDFC Life (-2.29%) stocks were major losers as of 9.42 am
Infosys stock declined by 1.95 per cent to trade at ₹1,391.55 as of 9.44 am on the NSE, after its Q4 FY24 results..
Man Industries Ltd has received approval from Shell Global for external, internal, and concrete coating of steel pipelines at Anjar, Gujarat. The stock rose 2.80 per cent to trade at ₹395 on the NSE as of 9.34 am.
Dmart stocks hit a 52-week high on the NSE at ₹4,836.70. The stock traded at ₹4,688.40 as of 9.40 am, higher by 1.32 per cent.
Inox Wind Limited (IWL) has bagged an order for the supply of 210 MW of Wind Turbine Generators (WTGs) from Hero Future Energies (HFE). Stock traded at ₹541.70, down by 0.48 per cent on the NSE.
Indo Count has announced the acquisition of US fashion brand WAMSUTTA from Beyond Inc. The stock inched up 0.66 per cent to trade at ₹375.10 as of 9.35 am on the NSE.
Dhanlaxmi Bank gets RBI nod for appointment of Ajith Kumar as the MD and CEO.
Dhanuka Agritech has announced the launch of two products- insecticide LaNevo and bio-fertiliser MYCORe Super. The stock traded at ₹1,273.65 on the NSE as of 9.36 am, up 0.65 per cent.
Happiest Minds Technologies has executed a share purchase agreement to acquire 100 per cent equity interest in Macmillan Learning India Pvt Ltd for a cash consideration of ₹4.5 crore. Happiest Minds stock traded at ₹801.95 as of 9.38 am on the NSE, down by 0.86 per cent.