Mid-day Mood | Nifty, Sensex trade flat after hitting fresh record highs

Indices trade flat after hitting fresh highs

The Sensex and the Nifty 50 traded flat around noon on March 7 after having opened at fresh all-time highs with Nifty 50 surpassing 22,500 for the first time.

The optimism in the early trade can be attributed to the rally in global markets after US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated the possibility of rate cuts in this year and ruled out near-term risks of economic recession.

Around noon, the Sensex was up 69.21 points, or 0.09 percent, at 74,155.20, and the Nifty was up 26.30 points, or 0.12 percent, at 22,500.30. About 1,985 shares advanced, 1,149 shares declined, and 82 shares remained unchanged.

The broader market gained with BSE Smallcap and BSE Midcap indices rising 0.9 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

Sectoral Trends

Nifty Metal and Nifty Media were the top gainers as they each rose more than 1%. Nifty IT gained nearly 1% with major contribution from TCS, Infosys, and Wipro.

Oil and gas, and automobile stocks, on the other hand, were the major laggards.

Fundamental View

"The 3.7% decline in the smallcap index this week when Nifty appreciated by 0.5% is a big underperformance," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services. "This trend is likely to continue since valuation in the broader market remains highly elevated and the regulator has sent a clear message regarding the froth in the segment," he added.

Vijayakumar said that investors have the time to switch from smallcaps to fairly valued largecaps and partly to fixed-income products. He is of the view that at this stage in the market, safety should be given priority over return.

Technical View

The support zone of 22200 withheld its significance and is likely to provide a cushion in the near term, followed by 22150 and 22000 on a broader term, said Sameet Chavan, head of technical and derivative research at Angel One.

Chavan said that as the Nifty 50 is in uncharted territory, it would be challenging to forecast resistance. "But, with the strong bullish candle formation, 22600-22650 is likely to be seen as the next potent resistance for the index in the comparable period," he added.

Key Nifty gainers

Bajaj Auto, UPL, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, and Bajaj Finance

Key Nifty losers

Mahindra & Mahindra, SBI Life Insurance, BPCL, and Axis Bank

Key Sensex gainers

Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, and Asian Paints

Key Sensex losers

Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank, Maruti Suzuki, and ITC

Stock moves

SpiceJet: Shares surged 4 percent as the beleaguered airline operator announced the resolution of a Rs 413-crore dispute.

Phoenix Mills: Shares rose around 3.7 percent after HSBC raised its target price of the stock up to Rs 3,130 per share.

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