Nifty, Sensex today end flat amid high volatility; PSU Banks lose steam
Indian benchmark indices – Nifty, Sensex – ended flat on February 21 with negative bias amid high volatility in absence of any strong cues. The market lately has been trading in a range. The minutes of US Fed’s last meeting are expected on February 22.
At close, BSE Sensex was down 18.82 pts, or 0.03%, at 60,672.72, while Nifty was at 17,826.70, down 17.90 points, or 0.1%.
The market breadth was also negative with Advance-Decline ratio at 2:3 on NSE.
Among sectoral indices, PSU banks and realty indices lost the most. Only 3 indices ended in the green.
PSU Bank is the top loser, while the Energy sector is the top gainer.
“In the intraday sessions, Nifty managed to trade below the 17,900 mark after hitting the day`s high of 17,924.90 in morning trade & remain down throughout the day. Nifty is taking support at 17,830 a couple of times,” said Rohan Shah-head technical analyst at Stoxbox.
“Intraday traders can look for long opportunities only above the 17,890 level on Wednesday & the price should sustain above 17,890 for 15 minutes to confirm long. Traders can look for short only if nifty breaks the 17,800 again & remains below for 15 min to confirm short.”
NTPC, PowerGrid RIL and Tata Steel were the top gainers on Sensex, on the other hand, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Ultratech Cement and TCS were the biggest losers.
A total of 179 stocks hit a 52-week low on BSE today including names like Aarti Drugs, Adani Green, Adani Transmission, Bata India, Coffee Day, IPCA Labs, etc.
“Markets traded volatile in a narrow band and ended almost unchanged, taking a breather after the recent fall. After the flat start, the Nifty index oscillated between 17800-17925 levels and finally settled closer to the day’s low. Most sectoral indices traded under pressure wherein IT, realty and select banking counters were among the top losers. The broader indices also shed nearly half a percent each,” said Ajit Mishra, VP – Technical Research, Religare Broking.
“The recent price action shows indecisiveness among the participants amid mixed cues and the move is largely in sync with global peers. Amid all, it’s critical for Nifty to hold 17700 levels, to keep the recovery hopes alive. Meanwhile, we feel it’s prudent to restrict positions in the current scenario and wait for clarity,” he added.
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