Sensex, Nifty recoup most intra-day losses but end in red; here’s what experts make of today’s trade

Domestic benchmark indices staged a strong recovery in the final hours of trade on Monday to rebound from their intra-day lows and end flat. Sensex jumped 490 points while Nifty managed to end above 14,730. Tech Mahindra on TCS were the top gainers on Sensex. Dragging the index down were banking stocks and index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries. Broader markets outperformed benchmarks. India VIX closed the day’s session above 20 levels. 

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities –

“Indian benchmark equity indices were volatile on March 22 ending little changed. At close, the Nifty 50 index ended 8 points lower at 14,736. Asian markets were mixed after sentiments were shaken by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s announcement that it would end some emergency measures put in place last year to help the financial industry deal with the pandemic. Nifty has closed almost at the intraday high. A sustained breach of 14764 on the upside could result in some more upside momentum of about 100 Nifty points. Positive advance-decline ratio is also encouraging.”

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services –

“Fear of the second wave of Covid-19, elevated bond yield and weak global cues is weighing on the domestic market. The expectation of rise in inflation is also impacting the market. The market has marched well in anticipation of faster economic recovery and is taking a breather given tightening restrictions & an increase in future interest rate, spiking fear of a slower recovery.”

S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities –

“Markets opened weak on fears of the recent spike in coronavirus infections in a few states. Afternoon Trade however witnessed a recovery led by Cement stocks ( both large and midcap) with support from Technology stocks.”

Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking Ltd –

“Markets ended almost unchanged in a volatile trading session, in continuation to the prevailing consolidation phase. We expect the current consolidation to continue in the index, in absence of any major trigger. Apart from the global cues, rising COVID cases in India would continue to remain the key concern. We have been observing underperformance from the banking pack, which is hurting the prospects for sustainable directional move. It’s prudent to limit leveraged positions in the current scenario and let the market stabilise.”

Sumeet Bagadia Executive Director Choice Broking –

“After a flat opening, the Nifty index traded into negative territory with a range-bound move, as it made an intraday low at 14597.85 during the session and settled at 14736.40 with a moderate loss of 7.60 points. On the technical front, the Nifty index has been trading with the support of 21-Hourly Moving Averages, which points out strength in it. Moreover, The benchmark Index has confirmed Bullish Engulfing Candlestick Pattern on an Hourly Chart which suggests an upside rally for the upcoming session. At present, the Nifty index has an immediate resistance at 14900 levels while downside support is shifted up to 14500 levels.”