Mid-day Mood | Sensex, Nifty down amid selloff in broader indices; Fed's interest rate decision awaited

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty 50 were down by nearly 1 percent around noon on March 19 amid selloff in the mid- and small-caps segments. Selling was seen across all sectors with Nifty IT leading the losses amongst the sectoral indices.

The broader market underperformed the benchmarks wherein BSE Midcap was down 1.4 percent and BSE Smallcap was down 1 percent.

Investors now await the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision due on March 20.

Large caps like RIL, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, M&M, and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries appear strong even in an indecisive market, said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

Around noon, the Sensex was down 560.75 points or 0.8 percent at 72,187.67, and the Nifty 50 was down 191.90 points or 0.9 percent at 21,863.80. About 1,165 shares advanced, 2,030 shares declined, and 97 shares remained unchanged.

Sectoral Trends

All sectors were in the negative territory with Nifty IT as the worst hit sector. Nifty IT was down by 2 percent. Nifty FCMG, Nifty Energy, and Nifty Media were also some the worst hit sectoral indices.

Fundamental View

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services expects a change in global market construct to impact local markets in the near-term. "In the near-term a change in the global market construct will happen if the Fed sends a hawkish message stronger than market expectations. Investors may wait for clarity to emerge on the Fed response on March 20," he said.

Technical View

Nifty 50 can find support at 21,950 followed by 21,900 and 21,850, said Deven Mehata, Research Analyst at Choice Broking. On the higher side, 22,100 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 22,150 and 22,200, he said.

With the selling pressure by FII's we can witness profit booking from higher levels, Mehata said. Traders are advised to take a contra position where buying on dips at support levels and selling near the resistance could benefit in such a range-bound market, he added.

Key Nifty gainers

Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank

Key Nifty losers

Nestle India, BPCL, Tata Consumer Products, TCS

Key Sensex gainers

Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank

Key Sensex losers

Nestle India, TCS, HCL Tech, IndusInd Bank

Stock moves

Tata Consultancy Services: Shares of the company fell over 3 percent as 2.02 crore shares or 0.6 percent equity changed hands at an average price of Rs 4,043 per share.

Veritas (India): Share price locked at upper circuit and touched a 52-week high of Rs 950.55 in the early trade, after the company received a Rs 155.85-crore order from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

Disclaimer: Moneycontrol is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.