On Monday, February 12, domestic equity benchmarks the Nifty 50 and the Sensex closed lower due to losses driven by major banking and financial institutions, ahead of significant macroeconomic data and inconsistent international signals.
Today is the scheduled release of India’s December index of industrial production (IIP) data and the country’s consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation rate for January.
As investors awaited the release of US inflation data on Tuesday, British inflation data on Wednesday, and the eurozone GDP on Thursday, major global peers were mixed.
When the Sensex closed for the holidays, European markets were mixed while the majority of major Asian markets were closed. The domestic market saw a widespread sell-off as investors reduced their expectations about when the Fed might cut interest rates and a cautious mood pervaded the market.
The Sensex finished at 71,072.48, down 523 points, or 0.73 percent, while the Nifty 50 finished 166 points, or 0.76 percent, lower at 21,616.05.
As the top drags on the Sensex index, shares of ICICI Bank, ITC, HDFC Bank, and SBI ended the day. The losses on the small- and mid-cap indices were greater. The BSE Smallcap index fell precipitously by 3.16 percent, while the BSE Midcap index fell by 2.62 percent.
Investors lost roughly ₹7.4 lakh crore in a single session when the total market capitalization (mcap) of the companies listed on the BSE fell to approximately ₹379 lakh crore from approximately ₹386.4 lakh crore in the previous session.
Today’s top Nifty 50 gainers
The Nifty 50 index saw only 16 stocks close higher today. The top gainers were shares of Divi’s Laboratories, up 2.28 percent, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, up 2.60 percent, and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, up 2.68 percent.
Today’s top Nifty 50 laggards
The top laggards at closing were shares of BPCL (down 3.89 percent), Hero MotoCorp (down 4.27 percent), and Coal India (down 4.80 percent).
Currently, sectoral indices
With the exception of Nifty IT (up 0.79%), Healthcare (up 0.54%), and Pharma (up 0.28%), all sectoral indices saw losses at the end of the day.
The PSU Bank index lost 4.43 percent, and the Nifty Media index fell 4.46 percent. Significant losses were sustained by Nifty Realty (down 2.97 percent), Oil & Gas (down 2.62%), and Metal (down 2.40 percent) at the close. The Private Bank and Nifty Bank indices experienced declines of 1.66 and 1.65%, respectively.
Market opinions from experts
A reduction in positions, mostly in mid and small caps, was brought about by an increase in exchange margin requirements. Selling was a common issue, with PSU banks experiencing particularly difficult times, aside from the pharmaceutical and IT sectors. Between mid-cap and large-cap stocks, the premium valuation gap has reached an all-time high. Corporate earnings are predicted to decline despite a strong economic outlook because of moderated operating margins. Maintaining the premium valuation will be difficult for the general market. According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, large caps are expected to do well during consolidation.
Technical perspectives on the Nifty 50
“Nifty continued to fall following an hourly chart consolidation breakdown, which suggested a rise in pessimism. A lower top is formed by the index on the daily chart, indicating a decline in bullish sentiment. The momentum indicator shows a crossover, supporting this pessimistic view. If it stays below 21,850, the Nifty may continue to be a “sell on rise.” Support for the downside is located at 21,500, according to Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.
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