Taking Stock: More than 250 stocks hit 52-week low; Nifty fails to hold 12K

Indian market recovered losses but failed to reverse the trend on February 18 as the S&P BSE Sensex fell more than 160 points to close below 41,000 while the Nifty50 failed to hold on to 12,000 levels. The market closed with losses for the fourth straight day.

Let’s look at the final tally on D-Street on February 18 – the S&P BSE Sensex fell 161 points to 40,894 while the Nifty50 closed with losses of 53 points at 11,992 on Tuesday.

Tracking the momentum, more than 200 stocks on the BSE hit a fresh 52-week low which includes names like Gillette India, Hero MotoCorp, IndusInd Bank, Sobha, ITC, Everest Industries, and Marico, etc. among others.

On the other hand, more than 60 stocks on the BSE hit a fresh 52-week high which includes names like Abbott India, Torrent Pharma, Apollo Hospitals, Lux Industries, MindTree, and Vaibhav Global.

Sectorally, the action was seen in IT, oil & gas, public sector, capital goods, and healthcare stocks while profit-taking was visible in telecom, metals, auto, realty, FMCG and banking stocks.

The broader market underperformed as the S&P BSE Midcap index fell 0.6 percent, and the S&P BSE Smallcap index was down 0.45 percent.

Moody’s GDP downgrade along with muted macro data and earnings weighed on D-Street sentiment. On the global front, the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on companies and global supply chains is weighing on investors across the globe.

Experts feel that investors should wait for a breakout above the 12200 levels before initiating fresh positions on the long side. “Weak domestic data, muted earnings and the concern over global economic growth slowdown due to coronavirus is likely to weigh on the market sentiments,” Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd told Moneycontrol.

“Hence, we would remain cautious on the Indian markets in the near term. Investors would keep a watch on the movement of currency and crude oil prices,” he said.

Top Nifty gainers include stocks like GAIL India, BPCL, Coal India, and ZEE Entertainment.

Top Nifty losers include names like Hindalco, Tata Motors, YES Bank, and Bharti Infratel.

Stocks and Sectors:

Sectorally, the S&P BSE IT index rose 0.52 percent, followed by the S&P BSE Oil & Gas which was up 0.21 percent, and the S&P BSE Capital Goods rose 0.12 percent.

Profit-taking was seen in the Telecom space that fell more than 4 percent, followed by the S&P BSE Metal Index that fell 1.1 percent, and the S&P BSE Auto index was down 1.08 percent.

Volume spike of 100-700% was seen in stocks like Tech Mahindra, MRF, Colgate Palmolive, HPCL, Bharti Infratel, and YES Bank.

Long Buildup – OIL, TVS Motor, IOC

Short Buildup – YES Bank, Balkrishna Industries, Apollo Tyres, LIC Housing Finance

Stocks in the news:

Bharti Airtel, Voda Idea, Bharti Infratel under pressure on the AGR issue

IRCTC back at a record high, up over 8% in trade

Network 18, TV18 Broadcast, Hathway Cable, Den Networks gained 4-20 percent after Reliance Industries (RIL) announced the consolidation of its media and distribution properties under a single entity

LIC Housing Finance share price ended 4 percent lower after global brokerage house Credit Suisse turned bearish on the company as it downgraded its rating on the stock to underperform from outperform.

JSW Energy share price gained over 3 percent after the company signed a share purchase agreement with GMR Energy to acquire a 100 percent stake in its subsidiary company GMR Kamalanga Energy.

Technical View:

Nifty formed a bearish candle which looked like a ‘Hammer’ kind of pattern

Nifty bounced back after hitting a low of 11,908 but failed to hold on to 12000 levels

Now 11908 shall remain sacrosanct support for short term traders going forward.

Sustaining above the said level a pullback towards 12160 is eventually possible.

In the next trading session traders with a high-risk appetite can go long if Nifty opens on a bearish note preferably around 11950 levels but with a stop below 11900 levels, suggest experts.