Closing Bell: Nifty below 18,300, Sensex falls 413 pts; autos drag, PSU banks gain

Taking Stock: Market snaps 2-day gains; Nifty below 18,300, Sensex falls 413 points

Among sectors, Auto index down 1 percent, and healthcare, infra, bank, metal indices down 0.3-0.4 percent, while PSU Bank index up 0.7 percent.... Read More

Markets edged lower and lost over half a percent amid mixed cues. After the initial downtick, Nifty traded lackluster for most of the session however pressure in the final hours pushed the index lower. Consequently, the Nifty settled at 18,286.50 levels; down by 0.61%.

The profit taking was witnessed across the board wherein auto, financials and banking were among the top losers. Meanwhile, the broader indices outperformed the benchmark and closed almost unchanged.

Nifty may witness a further dip however the downside seems capped, thanks to prevailing buoyancy in key sectors. We thus recommend utilizing this phase to accumulate quality stocks till Nifty upholds 18,050.

The Nifty index experienced a decline as selling pressure emerged around a historical congestion level on the daily timeframe. Furthermore, a bearish engulfing pattern has formed, indicating a potential reversal in the market.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) has also entered a bearish crossover, suggesting a shift towards bearish sentiment. Over the short term, it is expected that the Nifty will continue to exhibit weakness and could potentially drift towards the support level of 18,200. A decisive drop below this support level may trigger additional selling pressure in the market. On the upside, resistance is observed at 18,300 and 18,500.

The Nifty index experienced a decline as selling pressure emerged around a historical congestion level on the daily timeframe. Furthermore, a bearish engulfing pattern has formed, indicating a potential reversal in the market.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) has also entered a bearish crossover, suggesting a shift towards bearish sentiment. Over the short term, it is expected that the Nifty will continue to exhibit weakness and could potentially drift towards the support level of 18,200. A decisive drop below this support level may trigger additional selling pressure in the market. On the upside, resistance is observed at 18,300 and 18,500.

Benchmarks ended on a nervous note and, most importantly, broke a 2-day winning streak owing to blurry global outlook ahead of a key speech to be delivered by US Fed Chairperson Jerome Powell on May 26.

Barring IT Index, all the other sectoral indices traded in red as profit-booking was preferred by wary investors for the day. If today’s profit booking is any indication, then Nifty's biggest support to watch is at 18,211 mark and below the same, expect a waterfall of selling towards the 17,383 mark.

Markets took a breather as profit-taking emerged as the key factor which dragged the Sensex below the psychological 62,000 mark. While strong FII buying and upbeat domestic economic readings had been aiding the rally over the past few weeks, global uncertainty over interest rate movement and slackening demand would prompt investors to book profit at regular intervals.

Technically, a reversal formation and bearish candle on daily charts suggest profit booking is likely to continue in the near future and the Nifty could face resistance at 18,400. Below the same, the index could retest the level of 18,200 and may fall up to 18,150. On the flip side, above 18,400, the chances of the index hitting 18,450-18,475 would turn bright.

A weaker greenback, strong foreign fund inflows and lower crude oil prices pushed the rupee higher after falling in the last three days. The local unit outperforms Asian currencies as the trade deficit narrows to a 21-month low.

Though the rupee outperformed among Asian currencies, the range remained narrow ahead of US debt ceiling talks. It is widely expected to see no compromise created and a continuation of the current uncertainty, making haven assets volatile.

In the near term, spot USDINR has resistance at 82.50 and support at 82.05.

The Nifty has witnessed a complete reversal of sentiments today. It opened on a positive note however as the day progressed the Nifty continued to drift lower and ultimately closed in the red down ~110 points for the day. On the daily charts, we can observe that the Nifty is trading around the lower end of the rising channel within which it has been trading since past one and a half month.

The daily momentum indicator has triggered a negative crossover which is a sell signal, however, until price breaks below the previous swing low of 18,194, the higher top and higher bottom formation is not violated and hence we shall review our short-term stance once Nifty closes below this crucial level. From here on, stock specific action is likely to happen and hence caution is advised.

The domestic benchmark's ascent towards record high was interrupted by selling pressure in heavyweight stocks, although small and mid-cap stocks outperformed. As anticipated, the Eurozone economy experienced a modest growth of 0.1% QoQ in the Jan-Mar period, following a stagnant previous quarter. In the US market, cautious trading prevailed as debt-ceiling negotiations took precedence.

Indian rupee ended higher at 82.21 per dollar against previous close of 82.30.

: Benchmark indices ended lower on May 16 with Nifty below 18,300.

At close, the Sensex was down 413.24 points or 0.66percentat 61,932.47, and the Nifty was down 112.30 points or 0.61percentat 18,286.50. About 1,790 shares advanced, 1,627 shares declined, and 132 shares were unchanged.

Top losers included HDFC, Tata Motors, M&M, HDFC Bank and Apollo Hospitals, while gainers were BPCL, ONGC, Coal India, Bajaj Finance and NTPC.

Among sectors, Auto index down 1 percent, and healthcare, infra, bank, metal indices down 0.3-0.4 percent, while PSU Bank index up 0.7 percent.

BSE midcap and smallcap indices ended with marginal gains.

Ugro Capital has registered a 130.77 percent year-on-year growth in profit at Rs 14.04 crore for the March FY23 quarter. Total income for the quarter grew by 92.44percentto Rs 217.2 crore compared to the same quarter previous fiscal.

Ugro Capital was quoting at Rs 191.85, down Rs 14.45, or 7.00 percent.