Indian benchmark indices bucked the weak trend in Asia and ended marginally higher on Friday. While the Assembly elections’ euphoria extended into a second day, developments around the Russia-Ukraine war, commodity prices, and the US inflation data kept the markets volatile. The BSE Sensex hit an intraday high of 55,834 in early deals efore settling at 55,550, up 86 points or 0.15 per cent. The Nifty 50 ended the day at 16,630, up 35 points or 0.2 per cent. Cipla, Sun Pharma, BPCL, JSW Steel, Dr Reddy’s Labs, IOC, Power Grid, Coal India, and ITC were the top gainers, while the losers were Nestle India, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Consumer Products, Tata Steel, Britannia, Axis Bank. In the broader markets, the BSE midcap, smallcap index outperformed the benchmarks.
Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking Ltd
“Markets took a breather after the recent rebound and ended almost flat. After the flat start, the benchmark hovered in a narrow range till the end while movement on the broader front kept the participants busy till the end. Markets will first react to the IIP data in early trades on Monday. Besides, development on the Russia-Ukraine crisis and movement of crude will remain in focus. On the index front, a decisive move above 16,800 in Nifty would further fuel the recovery, else sideways to negative move will continue. Participants should stay light and wait for clarity.”
Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities
“The short term uptrend of Nifty remains intact with high volatility. Having placed near the crucial overhead resistance of around 16800-17000 levels, there is a possibility of further consolidation movement for the short term. Weakness from the highs can’t be ruled in the coming session. Immediate supports to be watched at 16450 levels.”
Mohit Nigam, Head – PMS, HEM securities
“After starting the day in the negative, domestic stocks quickly recovered their losses and were trading higher, boosted by increases in banking, real estate, and metals stocks. The BJP’s big win in state elections bolstered mood, as did a significant drop in Brent crude in early trade. Automobile deliveries from factories to dealerships across the country fell 23% in February, as a variety of supply-side issues, such as a semiconductor shortage and a spike in car pricing owing to the implementation of new laws, weighed on demand. Global energy price increases will have a negative influence on the global economy. On the technical front, immediate support and resistance in the Nifty are 16,300 and 16,800. For the Bank Nifty, immediate support and resistance are at 33,800 and 35,500.”
Sachin Gupta, AVP, Research, Choice Broking
“Technically, Nifty has traded in a narrow range and formed inside the bar candlestick on the daily chart. Moreover, the index has been trading below Middle Bollinger Band formation, which indicates further resistance around 16850 levels. However, the Stochastic & MACD is indicating positive crossover, which suggests that the downside move is capped and price may reverse upward. At present, the index has support at 16350 levels while resistance comes at 16850 levels. On the other hand, Bank nifty has support at 33700 levels while resistance at 35000 levels.”
Yesha Shah, Head of Equity Research, Samco Securities
“Nifty 50 indexes closed on a positive note for the week after a short-covering rally was witnessed as geopolitical tensions started easing. Having said that, the short-term trend still remains bearish on the charts and Nifty is facing strong selling pressure around 16,800 levels. The undertone of global indices continues to be bearish as well. Till Nifty decisively breaks above 16,800 levels, we suggest traders to maintain a neutral to the mild bearish outlook. Aggressive traders can look to take a short position in the Nifty index on a break below 16,450 while keeping the stop loss around 16,750 levels.”
