Closing Bell: Market ends with modest gains amid volatility; metals drag, realty gains

Taking Stock | Market ekes out gains amid volatility; metals drag, realty up

On the sectoral front, the metal index shed nearly 3 percent, while pharma, oil & gas, power, FMCG and realty indices rose a percent each

Markets traded volatile and ended almost unchanged, taking a breather after the recent slide. The tone was negative initially however rebound in select heavyweights helped Nifty to recoup losses and close flat. Meanwhile, a mixed trend was witnessed on the sectoral front wherein FMCG, Energy and Pharma traded upbeat while metal and IT ended lower. The broader indices too traded mixed and closed flat to marginally lower.

Global cues are still mixed however oversold positions and the existence of support around 16,800 in Nifty may trigger a rebound towards the 17,200 zone. Having said that, participants shouldn’t go overboard and restrict positions to stocks that are showing relatively higher strength.

Domestic equities arrested its five days losing streak after the Swiss National Bank agreed to provide financial aid to Credit Suisse Group. Nifty opened positive but witnessed rollercoaster ride throughout the session to finally end with marginal gains of 13 points at 16,986 levels.

Fresh concern over Credit Suisse failure has aggravated fears with regards how deep-rooted the banking crisis can get going ahead. Its ripple effect is seen across global markets including India. Nifty is down ~4% over last six trading sessions. We expect weakness to continue in the near term ahead of ECB meeting outcome today and Fed outcome next week.

The commentary over the ongoing turmoil in the financial sector would be crucial for the markets. We expect Oil marketing companies, cement and paints stocks to remain in lime light on account of fall in Brent crude price to 15-month low at USD 73/bbl.

After five days of losses, there has been some market recovery. Despite significant intraday volatility, all major indices managed to finish positive. In the short term, the continued volatility and weakness of global cues will be a major driving force. Yet, we are trading close to a crucial support level and are severely oversold, so any good trigger could result in a dead cat bounceback. World markets will attempt to position themselves for forthcoming US Fed policies amid financial sector unrest.

Technically, Nifty ends with a doji candlestick formation near the important support zone of 16,950–16,900. If Nifty manages to bounce back from here, then we can expect a bounceback in the market towards 17,250 and 17,440 levels. Nifty should witness a closing above 17,050, which is the 100-week moving average, because it didn't close below it post-COVID recovery. However, if Nifty slips below the 16,800 level, then we can expect more pressure in the market.

Banknifty also ends with a spinning bottom candlestick formation near the important support level of 38,700. However, the 200-DMA of 39,600 is an immediate hurdle; above this, we can expect a short-covering move towards 40,500 and 41,000 levels. If it slips below 38,500, then more selling pressure is expected towards the 38,000–37,700 zone.

The Nifty witnessed a sharp recovery and closed in the positive after falling for five consecutive days. It closed with marginal gains of ~13 points, more importantly it has taken support at the lower end of the downward sloping channel and bounced back with a long lower shadow indicating buying interest at lower levels.

The positive divergence and positive crossover on the hourly charts suggest that bounce can continue over the next few trading sessions. Considering that the Nifty has corrected ~1000 points in the last six trading sessions it is appearing oversold and hence a relief rally appears highly probable over the next few trading sessions. On the upside the immediate hurdle stands at 17,170 – 17,200 zone.

With the turbulence at Credit Suisse and ahead of the ECB policy announcement, investors' attention has switched to developments in the European market.

Consistently unfavourable signs in global markets are encouraging investors to move to safe havens such as the dollar and gold, while FIIs are withdrawing funds from the domestic market in response to the Indian rupee's depreciation. Though the SVB & Credit Suisse crisis has eased, the market lacks the confidence to hold positions on contagion fears.

Indian rupee ended lower at 82.74 per dollar against previous close of 82.60.

: Benchmark indices ended on positive note in the highly volatile session on March 16.

At close,the Sensex was up 78.94 points or 0.14% at 57,634.84, and the Nifty was up 13.40 points or 0.08% at 16,985.60. About 1377 shares advanced, 2062 shares declined, and 107 shares were unchanged.

Top losers on the Nifty included Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, IndusInd Bank and Bharti Airtel, while gainers were BPCL, Nestle India, Asian Paints, HUL and Titan Company.

On the sectoral front, metal index shed nearly 3 percent, while pharma, oil & gas, power, FMCG, realty indices rose 1 percent each.

The BSE midcap index ended on flat note, while smallcap index fell 0.7 percent.

-Equal-weight rating, target at Rs 2,215
-Loan growth remains strong, despite some increase in macro challenges
-Margin improved sharply in recent quarters
-Margin is expected to moderate over next year as funding costs catch up
-Retail term deposit growth continues to accelerate, helped by higher card rates
-Asset quality trends remain very strong & will likely sustain near future
-Board continues to evaluate external & internal candidates for post of next MD & CEO

Kotak Mahindra Bank was quoting at Rs 1,663.00, down Rs 3.10, or 0.19 percent.

Sunflag Iron and Steel Company has entered into long term power delivery agreements (PDA) with the 3 solar power producer companies.

The company also executed share subscription and shareholders’ agreements with Renew Green Energy Solutions (promoter) and those 3 solar power producer companies for developing and operating renewable energy projects and deliver the power generated from its 71.34 MW solar photovoltaic projects to the company for 15 years extendable upto 25 years.

Sunflag Iron and Steel Company was quoting at Rs 139.40, down Rs 1.00, or 0.71 percent.

Sarda Energy & Minerals has received the consent to operate from Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board, Raipur, for expansion in existing rolling mill from 1.8 lakh tonnes per annum to 2.5 lakh tonnes per annum.

Sarda Energy and Minerals was quoting at Rs 1,121.65, down Rs 40.60, or 3.49 percent.