Mid-day Mood | Sensex falls 500 points from day's high, Nifty breaks below 23,200

The market is on its second consecutive day of gains

Frontline indices, Sensex and Nifty gave up most the day's gains and traded flat on January 15 afternoon amid weakness in auto, banking, and pharma stocks. Midcaps, too, gave up majority of the gains, while smallcaps continued to outperform.

Around noon, Sensex fell nearly 500 points from day's high to trade around 76,504, while Nifty broke below 23,200. The market breadth was positive as around 2,123 shares advanced, 1,296 shares declined, and 101 shares unchanged.

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Despite the intraday selloff, analysts suggest that the Nifty’s rebound has formed a "bullish harami" pattern, indicating that the bulls must push the index above 23,340 for further gains.

"With the January 17-23 timeframe approaching, the support levels between 22,830 and 23,000, and resistance levels between 23,355 and 23,470, will be closely monitored," said Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities.

As US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration draws near, V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, noted that clarity on Trump's actions and their potential market impact is expected soon.

"There are reports suggesting Trump may begin with modest tariff hikes, pressuring major US exporters but leaving room for negotiations. If this plays out, it could stall further rises in the dollar and US bond yields. Until then, FII selling may persist, preventing any market rallies," he added.

Among sectors, the Nifty Realty index was the top performer, followed by Nifty Metal and Nifty PSU Bank indices. PSU banking stocks were particularly active after the government approved a Rs 10,000 crore fund-raising plan for five state-owned lenders through qualified institutional placements (QIPs).

Notably, power stocks led gains in the Nifty 50, with NTPC, Power Grid, and Coal India rising by as much as 4 percent, followed by Trent and Maruti Suzuki India. On the downside, Bajaj Twins capped gains and emerged as the top laggards in the Nifty 50, followed by M&M, Shriram Finance, and Axis Bank.

The most discussed stocks on the Street were Shoppers Stop, which saw a 37 percent YoY profit growth, sending the stock up 11 percent. Sula Vineyards also caught investors' attention, surging up to 4 percent after reporting its highest-ever revenue in the third quarter.

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