Closing Bell: Sensex falls 617 pts, Nifty below 22,350; smallcap index down 2%

Benchmark indices ended lower on March 11 with Nifty below 22,350. At close, the Sensex was down 616.75 points or 0.83 percent at 73,502.64, and the Nifty was down 160.80 points or 0.71 percent at 22,332.70.

We wrap up today's edition of the Moneycontrol live market blog, and will be back tomorrow morning with all the latest updates and alerts. Please visit https://www.moneycontrol.com/markets/global-indices/ for all the global market action.

Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking

Markets started the week with a cut and lost over half a percent amid mixed cues. After the flat start, Nifty inched gradually lower as the session progressed and finally settled around the day’s low at 22,332.65 level. Mostly sectors traded in sync with the move and closed in the red wherein metal, banking and energy were among the top losers. The broader indices traded mixed wherein smallcap shed ~2%.

The intermediate dip in the index after every uptick and underperformance of the broader indices are making traders’ life difficult and we feel it might continue due to mixed trends across the index majors. In the present scenario, traders should avoid aggressive longs and prefer a hedged approach.

Jatin Gedia – Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas:

The Nifty opened on a flat note and as the day progressed the Nifty drifted lower to close the day in the red down ~160 points. On the daily charts we can observe that Nifty has not witnessed follow through buying interest after a decisive breakout. It is witnessing selling pressure at higher levels. This could result in Nifty slipping back into the consolidation zone 22100 – 22600.

The daily Bollinger bands are contracting indicating a range contraction and is likely to result in a range bound price action going ahead. The expectation of trending moves on the upside is fading away in the absence of strength from the key heavyweights of the index. In terms of levels, 22224 – 22167 is the crucial support zone while 22530 – 22600 is the immediate hurdle zone from short term perspective.

Bank Nifty filled the gap created on the 17th January and thereafter has been unable to carry on the positive momentum. On the downside it can slip towards the 46900 – 46800 where support in the form of 50% Fibonacci retracement level of the rise from 45662 – 48161 and the 20-day moving average (46818) is placed.

Kunal Shah, Senior Technical & Derivative Analyst at LKP Securities

The Bank Nifty index encountered strong resistance from bears at higher levels, prompting a downside move. Immediate support for the index is at 47000-46800 levels, and a decisive close below this range could intensify selling pressure. To resume the uptrend towards all-time high levels, the index must decisively surpass the mark of 47700.

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities

Nifty has been fluctuating within an ascending channel, displaying a pattern of higher highs and higher lows. The overall trend continues to be bullish, although there is currently an intermediate corrective phase in progress. In the short term, Nifty could experience weakness, possibly leading to a decline toward the range of 22200-22250. Looking at the upside, immediate resistance is identified at 22400 based on closing prices.

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities

After lingering in negative territory for most part of the trading session, markets ended with steep losses after selling intensified towards the fag-end. Weak global cues contributed to the overall weakness as local investors cut their exposure to banking, telecom, power and realty stocks.

The market is in a volatile phase due to uncertainty over global interest rate cut, geo-political tensions and sluggish growth in key economies, which is forcing investors to cash out of their investments at regular intervals.

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Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services:

Continued selloff in global markets due to uncertainty over rate cuts impacted the domestic market sentiment, which is currently at an overbought level. The stronger than expected US nonfarm payroll data and caution ahead of the release of US inflation data tomorrow kept investors on the edge.

The broader market continued its underperformance due to valuation concerns, while investors are rebalancing their portfolios to include safe haven assets like gold.

Rupee Close:

Indian rupee ended flat at 82.76 per dollar versus previous close of 82.78.

Market Close: Benchmark indices ended lower on March 11 with Nifty below 22,350.

At close, the Sensex was down 616.75 points or 0.83 percent at 73,502.64, and the Nifty was down 160.80 points or 0.71 percent at 22,332.70. About 1005 shares advanced, 2790 shares declined, and 131 shares unchanged.

Top losers on the Nifty were Tata Consumer Products, Power Grid Corporation, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto and SBI, while gainers included Apollo Hospitals, Nestle India, Cipla, SBI Life Insurance.
Bajaj Finserv

All the sectoral indices ended in the red with auto, capital goods, FMCG, oil & gas, bank, Information Technology, realty, metal and power down 0.5-1 percent each.

The BSE mid-cap index shed 0.2 percent and small-cap index fell 2 percent.

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-Sell call, target Rs 165 per share
-Vijaipur site lies at the heart of company’s operations
-Management showcased operational & tech capabilities of Vijaipur site in managing HVJ pipeline network
-Company has taken green hydrogen & captive solar power generation initiatives
-Initiatives underscore company’s commitment to its long-term vision for energy transition and net zero by 2040

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-Outperform call, target Rs 12,890 per share
-Company likely to benefit from increase in share of CNG & hybrid PV
-Company likely to offset its weaker positioning in electric vehicles
-Stock has underperformed Sensex significantly
-Stock trading at a 23.5x CY25 EPS, below its 10-year average PE multiple

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Indian Rupee depreciated by 0.06% on Monday on weak domestic markets. However, a weakness in US Dollar and a decline in crude oil prices cushioned the downside. US Dollar declined on rising expectations of a rate cut by US Federal Reserve in January post the jobs report. Though the non-farm payrolls added more jobs in February than expectations, its downward revision of January 2024 and December 2023 data raised concerns over the jobs markets. Unemployment rate also rose to a 2-year high of 3.9% in February versus forecast of 3.7%.

We expect Rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on risk aversion in global markets and concerns that FIIs may sell leading to outflows. Any recovery in US Dollar and any pullback in crude oil prices may also weigh on Rupee. However, any FDI related inflows may support Rupee at lower levels. Any recovery in domestic equities may also support Rupee. Traders may remain cautious ahead of inflation data from India and US. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 82.50 to Rs 83.

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-Underperform call, target Rs 150 per share
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Sensex Today | Gold's record rally hits pause ahead of US inflation data

Gold prices took a breather from a record-breaking rally on Monday, which was fuelled by a cooling U.S. labour market and remarks from the Federal Reserve, with traders awaiting a key inflation report for fresh clues on the timing of rate cuts.

Spot gold was steady at $2,179.97 per ounce, as of 0731 GMT. U.S. gold futures were also little moved at $2,186.70.

Gold climbed a record peak of $2,194.99 for the fourth straight session on Friday as data signalled to a cooling U.S. labor market.