BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 crashed nearly 2 per cent on Monday, on the back of rising crude oil prices and FIIs selling. Markets have been witnessing sell-off from last three trading sessions, erasing over Rs 6 lakh crore investors money. BSE Sensex fell 1024 points or 1.73 per cent to end at 57,621, while the Nifty 50 index plunged 1.73 per cent or 303 points to finish trade at 17213. Stocks of index heavyweights such as HDFC Bank, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), ICICI Bank, Infosys, L&T, others contributed the most to the indices fall. Bank Nifty fell over 2 per cent. Broader markets also particpated in the sell-off. S&P BSE MidCap index tumbled 1.25 per cent ot 309 points to 24,442, and S&P BSE Smallcap index cracked 0.75 per cent or 222.46 points to end at 29,480. India VIX, the volatility index, rallied over 8 per cent to settle at 20.44 levels.
Naveen Kulkarni, Chief Investment Officer, Axis Securities
Sensex is down over 1000 points today on weak global cues. Some of the factors impacting the Indian equity markets are – upcoming MPC announcement, fear of aggressive interest rate hikes by US central bank, weak sales for auto manufacturers due to poor rural demand, heavy selling by FIIs and weak Asian markets amid surging US bond yields. We expect that the markets will continue to remain volatile on the back of the recent interest rate movements globally. Most emerging markets will continue to witness FPI outflows and currency depreciation in the short term. We believe that this volatility should be bought into through regular investments, as earning expectations for Indian corporates remain strong. Some sectors which can perform well in the short-term are banks, commodities and energy.
Narendra Solanki, Head- Equity Research (Fundamental), Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers
Indian markets opened in red following mixed Asian market cues as investors continued to monitor the situation around Ukraine crisis and digest U.S. jobs data and central bank moves in region. During the afternoon session markets added losses to continue their weak trade amid persistent foreign fund outflows, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) pulled out as much as Rs 6,834 crore from Indian markets in the first four trading sessions of February. Traders were seen adding positions in Utilities, Metal and PSU stocks while selling was witnessed in Capital Goods, Healthcare and Telecom sector stocks.
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities
Nifty remained firmly in the bears’ grip as the benchmark fell below the support of 17400. On the lower end, the index fell towards 17100 before closing just above 17200, which is two-thirds of the previous rally. Going ahead, Nifty may find resistance at 17400; as long as it remains below 17400, we may see weakness in the market. On the lower end a closing basis support is pegged at 17000.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services
Domestic markets are volatile ahead of the state elections, witnessing a steep fall led by FII selling and weak global cues. US bourses were under pressure as strong US jobs data gave rise to fears of sharper than expected Fed rate hikes, resulting in a spike in the bond yields. The volatility in the market is likely to continue due to high chances of interest rate lift-off by the RBI given domestic inflation and policy tightening by global central banks.
Ravi Singh, Head of Research and Vice President, Share India Securities
At current juncture, the market sentiments are weak and it may further drag Sensex to 58000-57500 levels in near term. Investors should avoid taking any fresh positions for the time being till the market sentiments stabilizes. Banking, Auto, EV, Pharma and IT sectors look attractive and may show a good bounce from lower levels.
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