Indian markets experienced another gloomy day as shares of major heavyweights took a hit, leading benchmark indices to close the session with a significant drop of over 1.5%. The Nifty 50 tumbled 1.54% in today’s trade, settling at 21,238 points, while the S&P Sensex finished the session with a drop of 1.47% at 70,370 points.
The downward trend in banking stocks persisted in today’s trading, causing the Nifty Bank Index to reach a 7-week low at 45,015 points, reflecting a 2.26% drop. Notably, 11 out of 12 constituents of the index finished the session in negative territory. The exception was ICICI Bank, which managed to secure a 2% gain, closing the session at ₹1,029 per share.
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Among the biggest laggards, IDFC First Bank stood at the top with a drop of over 6.7%, reaching ₹81.8 apiece following the bank’s mixed Q3 earnings. Other top underperformers during the trade were IndusInd Bank, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, State Bank of India, and Au Small Finance Bank, all of which dropped by over 4% in today’s trade.
Kunal Shah, Senior Technical & Derivative Analyst at LKP Securities, said the immediate resistance for Nifty Bank is at 45,500 levels, and any upward movement towards this level is viewed as an opportune moment to consider selling positions.
On the downside, he said that the crucial support is established around the 45,000–44,800 zone. A breach below this support range may intensify the selling pressure, potentially leading to a decline towards the 44,000 mark, he added.
Other major sectoral underperformers included Nifty Media (-12.87%), Nifty Realty (-5.31%), Nifty Oil and Gas (-3.47%), Nifty Metal (-3.43%), and Nifty Consumer Durables (-2.29%). Conversely, the Nifty Pharma Index bucked the trend, recording a gain of 1.66%, driven by notable contributions from Cipla, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, and Zydus Lifesciences.
Also Read: Nifty 50, Sensex fall 1.5% each; mid, smallcaps bleed; investors lose over ₹8 lakh crore in a day
Commenting on today’s overall market performance, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said,” The market witnessed a continuous decline today, abruptly turning negative despite a positive start, mainly due to substantial selling in heavyweight sectors, particularly finance.
“Mid and small caps witnessed more decline compared to the main indices. Selling by FIIs due to reasons like high valuation and mixed results for the earnings season so far, along with recent escalations in tensions in the Middle East and the Red Sea, prompted the investors to book profit from the recent rally. Going forward, markets are likely to witness stock-specific actions during the ongoing earnings season,” he added.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
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Published: 23 Jan 2024, 05:10 PM IST