Dalal Street closed with losses on the weekly Futures & Options expiry session. S&P BSE Sensex closed 770 points or 1.29% lower at 58,788 while the NSE Nifty 50 index dived 219 points or 1.24% to end at 17,560. Bank Nifty closed 0.81% lower, holding just above the 39,000 mark. Broader markets closed in the red. Bajaj Auto was the top gainer, up 2.12%, followed by ITC, Maruti Suzuki, SBI, and Asian Paints. HDFC was the top laggard, accompanied by Infosys, Larsen & Toubro, and Kotak Mahindra Bank. Among sectoral indices, only Nifty Auto and Nifty Consumer Durables index closed in green. India VIX rose 2.73%, regaining 19 levels.
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities –
“The markets were in an overbought position as it had rallied sharply in recent sessions and so selling was on the cards. All the key concerns like geopolitical tensions, likely US rate hike, rising crude prices are still a potent threat to markets, and bouts of selling could be seen in regular intervals. After a promising uptrend rally, the Nifty found resistance near the important retracement level of 17800. For the traders, 17500 and 17400 would act as strong support zones on the Nifty, while 17700 -17800 could be the immediate resistance.”
Manish Hathiramani, proprietary index trader and technical analyst, Deen Dayal Investments –
“17800 proved to be a stiff resistance and the Nifty reacted fiercely. The short-term trend will become bullish only post-closing of 17800. Good support lies at 17200 and the current bear market will resume if we break this level on a closing basis. We are currently in neutral territory and hence a “wait and watch” strategy should be adopted!”
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities–
“Nifty closed with a selling pressure on Thursday as it found resistance at 17775-17800. On the lower end the index found support at 17530 which is 50EMA on the hourly timeframe. Going forward, the 17530-17500 zone may act as near term support; bounce is likely if Nifty holds above 17500. On the higher end, resistance remains at 17700/17800. The trend is expected to remain positive as long as Nifty remains above 17400 on closing basis.”
Mohit Nigam, Head – PMS, Hem Securities –
“On the technical front 17,500 and 17,700 are immediate support and resistance in Nifty 50 respectively. For Bank Nifty 38,800 and 39,300 are immediate support and resistance respectively.”
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services –
“The domestic market extended its losses following broad-based selling as global cues turned in favour of bears. All major sectors succumbed to selling while Auto stocks showed some resistance on the back of sequential growth in auto sales numbers during January. US futures were under pressure following weak earnings numbers reported by Meta (Facebook) while European markets fretted about monetary policy tightening ahead of the central bank policy announcement.”
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