Can market expect some consolidation around current levels?

Welcome to ETMarkets Watch, the show about stocks, market trends and money-making ideas. I am Bhaskar Dutta and here are the top headlines at this hour.

-IMD says respite for 3-4 days from heat wave
-CNG prices may fall over next few days
-Chinese media defends Indian wheat curb
-Adani Group to buy 49% in Quint
-China's economy skids as lockdowns hit biz
-Jet fuel prices hiked by 5% - record in Delhi

Let’s take a quick glance at what happened on Dalal Street today.

Domestic equity markets snapped a six-day losing streak on Monday as strength in US stocks after a period of significant volatility boosted risk appetite.

Low-level buying in some index heavyweights also gave a fillip to headline indices, with auto, power and banking counters witnessing buying interest.

The 30-share pack Sensex advanced 180.22 points or 0.34 per cent to close at 52,973.84. Its broader peer NSE Nifty rose 60.15 points or 0.38 per cent to close above the 15,800 mark.

Deepening concerns over domestic inflation and an unprecedented bout of selling pressure from FIIs, however, kept gains in check for equities.

With India’s inflation surging to an 8-year high in April, the RBI is widely expected to follow up a surprise 40-basis-point rate hike earlier this month with a fresh rate hike in June.

Meanwhile, the US Fed is seen carrying on with multiple rate hikes and the shrinking of its balance sheet as it tackles 40-year inflation in the country. Higher US interest rates eat into the appeal of emerging market assets.

18 of the 30 stocks on the BSE Sensex gained, with NTPC rising 3 per cent. Bajaj Finance, SBI, Maruti and HDFC each rose 2 per cent.

Ultratech lost 3 per cent, while Asian Paints and ITC shed 2 per cent each. Tech Mahindra and TCS lost 1 per cent each.

13 stocks hit upper circuits while four hit lower circuit limits. 20 stocks touched 52-week highs while 75 hit 52-week lows.

We have Arijit Malakar from Ashika Stock Broking to share his views on the action and the road ahead:

Welcome to the show sir:
1. Markets managed to break a six-day losing streak today. Can we expect some consolidation around current levels?
2. Midcap and smallcap indices have started to show some strength after witnessing significant volatility. Is this is a good time to enter these segments?

We also caught up with Vaishali Parekh from Prabhudas Lilladher to decode the technical charts for you.
1. The Nifty50 settled above the 15,800 level. What do the technical charts suggest about it?
2. Bank Nifty sharply outperformed the headline index today. What is your outlook on the sector?

Asian markets mostly ended higher. Major European markets were trading with cuts in the first few hours of trade. Meanwhile, US stock futures were down, signalling a weak start to US equities later in the day. That’s all for now. Do check out ETMarkets.com for all the news, market analysis, investment strategies and dozens of stock recommendations. Enjoy your evening. Bye Bye!