The Indian equity indices ended with little change in the volatile session on February 1 after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the inline Interim Budget with no big announcements.
At close, the Sensex was down 106.81 points or 0.15 percent at 71,645.30, and the Nifty was down 28.20 points or 0.13 percent at 21,697.50.
After a positive start, the market gyrated between gains and losses in the initial hours and went to the day's high points before FM presented the budget. However, as there were no major announcements, the market wiped out all the gains and traded flat with a negative bias, before closing near day's low.
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Stocks and sectors
Top Nifty gainers were Maruti Suzuki, Cipla, Eicher Motors, SBI Life Insurance and Power Grid Corporation, while losers included UltraTech Cement, L&T, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, JSW Steel and Grasim Industries.
A mixed trend saw on the sectoral front, with auto, bank, FMCG and power added 0.2-0.8 percent, while capital goods, metal and realty were down a percent each.
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The BSE midcap index shed 0.4 percent, and the smallcap index ended 0.2 percent lower.
Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 600 percent was seen in India Cements, Indus Towers and Godrej Consumer Products.
A long build-up was seen in Godrej Consumer Products, Canara Bank and Punjab National Bank, while a short build-up was seen in India Cements, Aurobindo Pharma and Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company.
Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of India, BEML, BL Kashyap, Canara Bank, CARE Ratings, Delhivery, Gallantt Ispat, GE Power India, Godrej Consumer, HUDCO, India Tourism Development Corporation, Indian Bank, Infibeam Avenue, LIC Housing Finance, Max Healthcare, Motherson Sumi Wiring India, NBCC (India), Punjab & Sind Bank, Repco Home, Sangam India, Shipping Corporation, Torrent Power, UCO Bank, Union Bank of India, Varroc Engineering among stocks, which touched their 52-week high on the BSE. Click here for the full list
Outlook for February 2
Aditya Gaggar Director of Progressive Shares:
The interim budget was the much anticipated non-event which was seen through tight market movements as the Index oscillated in a narrow range to settle the day lower at 21,697.45 with a loss of 28.25 points. PSU Banking was the best-performing sector of the day by gaining over 3%; and on the flip side, Media and Metal segments corrected over 1%. A mixed activity was seen in the Auto and Pharma space. Divergence was seen in the Broader markets where Midcaps corrected and moved in tandem with the Benchmark Index while Smallcaps ended in green.
A small bearish candle was formed on the daily chart but the undertone remains bullish with the downside protected at 21,630 which is 21DMA support while the immediate resistance is placed at 21,840.
Jatin Gedia – Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas:
The Nifty opened on a positive note and witnessed range-bound price action during the day. Despite being an event day, the range was narrow as compared to the recent trading sessions and the Nifty closed marginally in the red, down ~36 points. On the daily charts we can observe that the Nifty has been broadly stuck in the range of 21200 – 21900 for the last couple of weeks. The Nifty has been facing selling pressure at the 61.82% Fibonacci retracement level (21747) and has been unable to close above it on a closing basis. We believe that the range bound action is likely to continue. The daily momentum indicator has triggered a positive crossover while the hourly has a negative crossover. Moreover, prices are stuck in a range. Considering the divergent signals from price and momentum indicator, the Nifty is likely to witness range bound price action. Key support levels are 21550 – 21500 while immediate hurdle zone is placed at 21850 – 21900.
Bank Nifty witnessed continuation of the positive momentum. During the day, it was the bank Nifty which held on the crucial support zone of 45660 – 45700 where the hourly moving averages were placed and resumed its upmove. We believe that the Bank Nifty is likely to move higher towards 46570 – 46800 from short term perspective. The Daily momentum indicator has triggered a positive crossover which is a buy signal and is likely to provide speed to the upmove. Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
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