The Indian market managed modest gains amid volatility on August 25 amid weak global cues with investors staying on the sidelines as they await US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s signal on interest hikes.
At close, the Sensex was up 54.13 points, or 0.09 percent, at 59,085.43, and the Nifty was up 27.50 points, or 0.16 percent, at 17,605.
The market started on a flat note and remained in the negative territory for most of the session but last-hour buying helped the indices to close in the green.
"Bulls and bears continued to battle it out in the domestic market as weak global cues persisted, keeping the market under pressure," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
“The US economy contracted amid muted demand conditions with the service sector witnessing a sharp decline. Markets in Europe experienced a protracted sell-off as a result of investors’ concern over the oil crisis and the uncertain growth outlook."
Apollo Hospitals, IndusInd Bank, ONGC, NTPC and ICICI Bank were among the major Nifty gainers.
The losers included BPCL, Tata Steel, Divis Laboratories, Sun Pharma and TCS.
On the sectoral front, Nifty bank, metal and PSU bank indices rose 0.5 percent each. Some selling was seen in pharma names.
| Index | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 59,085.43 | 54.13 | +0.09% | |
| Nifty 50 | 17,604.95 | 27.45 | +0.16% |
| Nifty Bank | 39,038.50 | 340.85 | +0.88% |
| Biggest Gainer | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4,210.75 | 139.80 | +3.43% |
| Biggest Loser | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| BPCL | 329.55 | -4.15 | -1.24% |
| Best Sector | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty Bank | 39038.50 | 340.80 | +0.88% |
| Worst Sector | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty IT | 28859.80 | -98.00 | -0.34% |
Stocks and sectors
On the BSE, the realty index added 1 percent and bank, capital goods indices were up 0.5 percent each.
The broader market outperformed the benchmarks, with BSE midcap and smallcap indices rising 0.5 percent each.
A short build-up was seen in Lupin, HPCL and Mphasis, while a long build-up was witnessed in RBL Bank, Can Fin Homes and ABB.
Among individual stocks, a more than 100 percent volume spike was seen in Tata Chemicals, Sun Pharma and RBL Bank.
More than 150 stocks touched their 52-week highs on the BSE. These included SKF India, New Delhi Television, ABB India, Thermax and Jyothy Labs.
Outlook for August 25
Gaurav Ratnaparkhi, Head of Technical Research, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas
After the first leg of the decline from 18,000, the Nifty took support near the 20-DMA on August 23. Thereon, the index is attempting a minor degree bounce.
The price action in the last couple of sessions shows an overlapping structure. The index has now reached near the junction of the 40-hour exponential moving average and the hourly upper Bollinger Band.
This setup suggests that the next leg down is around the corner.
On the downside, 17350-17300 will be the initial target area, below which 17,000 will be the overall short term target. On the other hand, 17,650-17,700 is the key barrier that is expected to keep the bounce in check.
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities
Caution prevailed in the market ahead of the monthly expiry on August 25, while key benchmark indices eked out modest gains and shrugged off weak sentiment across most of the Asian and European markets.
Gains were muted as investors preferred to stay on the sidelines ahead of Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole symposium.
Technically, post-sharp reversal formation, the Nifty is witnessing range-bound activity while on intraday charts it has formed a higher bottom formation which supports the continuation of a pullback rally in the near future.
For traders, 17,500 would be the sacrosanct support zone and above which, the index could rally till 17,700-17,750.
On the flip side, the bullish sentiment could change if the index trades below 17,500, which could see the Nifty retest 17,400-17,350.
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