Taking Stock: Sensex up 105 points, Nifty at 22,050 led by auto, metals

The benchmark indices ended on a positive note on March 18 and also erased some of the previous session losses with Nifty around 22,050 amid buying across the sectors, barring IT and FMCG.

After a negative start, the market remained in a range throughout the first half, while some selling was seen in the mid-session. However, the market erased all the losses in the second half to close with moderate gains.

At close, the Sensex was up 104.99 points or 0.14 percent at 72,748.42, and the Nifty was up 32.40 points or 0.15 percent at 22,055.70.

Tata Steel, M&M, JSW Steel, Tata Motors and Apollo Hospitals were among the top gainers on the Nifty, while losers included Tata Consumer Products, UPL, Infosys, Adani Ports and Titan Company.

Among sectors, capital goods, healthcare, auto, realty, metal and media were up 0.5-3 percent, while IT and FMCG shed 0.5-1.5 percent.

BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended on a flat note.

Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 100 percent was seen in Coforge, Balrampur Chini Mills and PI Industries.

A long build-up was seen in Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and M&M, while a short build-up was seen in Coforge, Birlasoft and Persistent Systems.

Bharti Airtel, Cigniti Technologies, Colgate Palmolive, Force Motors, Hercules Hoists, Linde India, Oracle Financial Services, Reliance Infra, SMS Pharma, Solar Industries, TCS were among the other stocks that touched their 52-week on the BSE. Click to view full list

Outlook for March 19

Jatin Gedia – Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas

The Nifty opened on a weak note, however it recovered during the day to close with gains of 32 points. During the day, Nifty has managed to hold on to the support zone of 21900 – 21850 where support parameters in the form the 40-day average and the previous swing low is placed. It is still trading in the range 21900 – 22200 since the last three trading sessions and a decisive breach shall lead to trending moves in that direction. So, until the support zone is held, we can expect the positive momentum to resume. In terms of levels, 22215 – 22250 is the immediate hurdle zone while 21900 – 21860 is the crucial support.

Bank Nifty closed the day on a negative note for the seventh consecutive trading session. It has however recovered sharply from the intraday lows (46022). It has in the process held on to the 20-week average which is currently at 46300. We expect the Bank Nifty to recover, and, on the upside, it can rise to 47230 – 47400.

Aditya Gaggar Director of Progressive Shares

The morning trade was dominated by the bears and the Index almost tested its strong support of 21,900 followed by a swift recovery under the leadership of Metal, Auto, and selected heavyweights which helped the Index reclaim 22,000. With gains of 32.35 points, Nifty50 settled the day at 22,055.70.

After the initial fall in the morning trade; Mid and Smallcap segments remained rangebound and underperformed the Nifty50. The reading for the Index will remain the same i.e. breakout on either side giving a proper direction (Higher side 22,200 and lower side 21,900).

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