Taking Stock: Sensex, Nifty close in the red; PSU banks take a hit

The Indian market opened marginally higher but failed to build on the gains as the sell-off intensified as the session progressed, with the Sensex and the Nifty closing near the day’s low ahead of CPI inflation data announcement.

The Sensex, which sank to the day’s low of 70,922.57, narrowed losses to close 523 points, or 0.73 percent, lower at 71,073. The Nifty ended the day 166.50 points, or 0.76 percent, down at 21,616. During the day, it slipped to 21,575.

The Nifty Bank index came under intense pressure to sink to the day’s low of 44,633.85. It ended the day 1.65 percent lower at 44,882.25.

Stocks and sectors

Top Nifty losers included Coal India, Hero MotoCorp, BPCL, ONGC and NTPC, while gainers were Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Apollo Hospitals, Wipro, Divis Labs and HCL Technologies.

On the sectoral front, FMCG, PSU bank, capital goods, metal, oil & gas, power and realty were down 1-4 percent each, while healthcare and IT indices ended in the green.

The BSE midcap index fell 2.6 percent and the smallcap index shed 3 percent.

Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 200 percent was seen in Nalco, Bandhan Bank and Astral.

A long build-up was seen in Zydus Life, MRF and Astral, while a short build-up was seen in Bharat Forge, MCX India and Nalco.

More than 350 stock touched their 52-week high on the BSE including Zydus Life, Zomato, Strides Pharma, Star Cement, Parag Milk Foods, Oracle Financial Services, Max Healthcare, L&T Technology, Kirloskar Oil, JSW Holdings, JSW Energy, JBM Auto, Indian Hotels, HCL Technologies, GTL Infra, Global Health, Dr Reddy's Labs, Bharat Forge, Apollo Hospitals, ACC, Aarti Industries, among others. Click here for the full list

Outlook for February 13

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities

Nifty declined further after a consolidation breakdown on the hourly chart, indicating an increase in pessimism. The daily chart shows the index forming a lower top, signaling diminishing bullish sentiment.

The momentum indicator aligns with this bearish outlook, displaying a crossover. The Nifty might remain sell on rise as long as it remains below 21850. On the downside, support is situated at 21500.

Mandar Bhojane, Research Analyst at Choice Broking

Indian equity indices concluded lower on February 12, with the Nifty hovering around 21,600, as selling pressure affected various sectors except for IT and pharmaceutical companies.

On the daily chart, Nifty experienced a breakdown of the daily trendline and formed a bearish engulfing pattern with significant volume, indicating weakness in the index. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) exhibited a downward slope at 50.7, suggesting the persistence of bearish momentum. Immediate support levels are identified at 21,500-21,400, while hurdles are anticipated at 21,800 and 21,950.

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