The bears took charge of Dalal Street on March 20 after a two-day break amid lingering worries about the health of the global banking system and selling across the sectors at home in a volatile session.
The Sensex closed down 360.95 points, or 0.62 percent, lower at 57,628.95 and the Nifty was down 111.60 points, or 0.65 percent, at 16,988.40.
Amid weak global cues, the market started gap-down and stayed in the red. Some buying in the last couple of hours helped the Sensex and the Nifty to recover from the day's lows of 57,084.91 and 16,828.35.
"The fear of contagion of the financial crisis has kept investors away from the equity markets as the global market faces numerous hurdles. Despite Swiss regulators' intervention to protect the global financial system, investor sentiment remained shaky," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
"The market is now awaiting the outcome of the Fed meeting to see how they will respond to the ongoing crisis, particularly in terms of rate hikes. Investors expect the central bank to raise interest rates by 0–25 basis points," he added.
Stocks and sectors
Bajaj Finserv, Adani Enterprises, Bajaj Finance, Hindalco Industries and Wipro were among the top losers on the Nifty, while gainers were HUL, BPCL, ITC, Grasim Industries and Nestle India.
| Index | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 57,628.95 | -360.95 | -0.62% | |
| Nifty 50 | 16,988.40 | -111.65 | -0.65% |
| Nifty Bank | 39,361.95 | -236.15 | -0.60% |
| Biggest Gainer | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| HUL | 2,511.20 | 63.80 | +2.61% |
| Biggest Loser | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bajaj Finserv | 1,245.40 | -56.35 | -4.33% |
| Best Sector | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty FMCG | 45213.10 | 354.80 | +0.79% |
| Worst Sector | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty Metal | 5470.85 | -131.75 | -2.35% |
Barring FMCG, all sectoral indices ended in the red. Realty, capital goods, information technology, metal and PSU bank were down 1-2 percent.
The BSE midcap and smallcap indices shed 1 percent each.
More than 350 stocks that touched their 52-week low on the BSE, including Rolta, Quess Corp, Zuari Agro Chemicals, Wipro, Balaji Telefilms, V-Mart Retail, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Nelco, HDIL, Coffee Day Enterprises and Blue Dart Express.
Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 200 percent was seen in Balrampur Chini Mills, Page Industries and Apollo Hospitals.
A short build-up was seen in Balrampur Chini Mills, Hindustan Aeronautics and India Cements, while a long build-up was seen in Hindustan Unilever, Page Industries and BPCL.
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Outlook for March 21
Ajit Mishra, VP - Technical Research, Religare Broking
Markets started the week on a volatile note and lost over half a percent, in continuation to the prevailing trend. After the initial downtick, the Nifty index traded under pressure and slipped below Friday’s low; however, rebound in the select heavyweights trimmed the losses in the latter half. Eventually, it settled at the 16,988.40 level; down by 0.65%. Most of the sectoral indices traded in line with the benchmark wherein metal, realty and IT were among the top losers. Meanwhile, the broader indices underperformed and shed nearly a percent each.
Mixed global cues are keeping the participants on the edge and it might continue in near future, in absence of any major domestic event. Amid all, we are expecting some respite in the Nifty index however the view would negate if it fails to hold 16,800 levels. Meanwhile, the focus should be more on risk management.
Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas:
The Nifty witnessed a volatile day of trade today. It opened on a weak note and drifted lower during the first half of the trading session. As the day progressed it witnessed buying interest emerge from the lower end of the downward sloping channel support zone 16,800–16,850 and witnessed a sharp recovery. It closed on a negative note though well off the intraday lows indicating buying interest at lower levels.
On the hourly charts, we can observe that the momentum indicator has triggered a positive crossover which is a buy signal. Thus, we expect the Nifty to continue with the positive momentum which has started during the second half of today’s trading session for the next trading session as well.
On the upside, the immediate hurdle stands at the 17,145–17,200 zone where the previous swing high is placed. The immediate support stands at the lower end of the downward sloping channel 16,800–16,850.
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