Closing Bell: Nifty at 19,750, Sensex up 205 pts; IT gains, metals drag

Domestic equities extended their record high-runs with Nifty touching a new high of 19819. The index opened higher and traded sideways to close with marginal gains of 38 points at 19749 levels. Broader market however underperformed with the Nifty midcap 100 ending flat to negative while the Nifty smallcap 100 was down -0.9%.

Among sectors, IT was the top gainer up 1% followed by oil & gas. Continuing its current record-breaking rally, Nifty crossed the 19,800 mark – just 200 points away from the 20k zone.

We expect the gradual up move in the market to continue given the positive macro and micro factors. We suggest investors to look for buy on dips strategy as the Q1 earning season is expected to be healthy. On the global front, Investors look ahead to a busy week of earnings, including quarterly results from some of the largest US banks. Today’s (Tuesday) release of US retail sales and IIP data would be important from US Fed’s interest rate decision perspective.

The bulls are currently dominating the market, and the index has reached all-time high levels, indicating a strong upward momentum in the banking sector. The overall undertone of the index remains bullish, suggesting that the trend is likely to continue. Traders and investors may consider adopting a buy-on-dip approach, looking for opportunities to enter the market during price pullbacks.

A key support level is observed at 45000, which may act as a significant level of support for the Bank index. Traders may use this level as a reference for setting their stop-loss levels or determining potential buying opportunities.

The next major hurdle for the index is placed at 46000. If the index manages to surpass this level, it may indicate further upward momentum towards the target level of 46400.

Markets traded volatile and settled marginally higher, taking a breather after two days of advance. Initially, the tone was positive, thanks to upbeat global cues however profit taking at higher levels trimmed the gains. Consequently, Nifty closed at 19,749.25 levels; up by 0.19%.

Meanwhile, the tone was mixed on the sectoral front wherein IT and energy ended higher while realty and metal lost nearly a percent each. The broader indices also witnessed some profit taking and ended lower.

We expect Nifty to hold the 19,300-19,500 zone now so traders should utilize intermediate pause or a dip to create longs. Besides, we have reached a critical level in the US markets and a fresh break may add more legs to the prevailing up move.

The Nifty witnessed follow-through buying interest and closed with gains for the third consecutive trading session. It closed up ~40 points. On the daily charts, we can observe that the Nifty has been rising after breaking out of the range of 19300 – 19600. It is rising along the expanding upper Bollinger band indicating that the positive momentum is likely to continue.

Considering the sharp runup there can be consolidation, however, the overall trend is positive, and in case a dip occurs it should be bought into. On the upside, the short-term target is placed at 19900. In terms of levels, 19630 – 19580 shall act as a crucial support zone while 19880 – 19900 shall act as an immediate hurdle zone.

Bank Nifty consolidated after a sharp surge in the previous trading session. This consolidation is a healthy sign, and any dip should be used as a buying opportunity. The daily momentum indicator has a positive crossover and thus any sip is a buying opportunity. On the upside we expect the Bank Nifty to target levels of 46000 and 46500.

Nifty made yet another all-time high on July 18 amidst some intra-day volatility. At close, Nifty was up 0.19% or 37.8 points at 19749.3. Volumes on the NSE were above recent average. Broad market indices ended marginally in the negative even as the advance decline ratio fell to 0.69:1.

Most Asian markets fell Tuesday as further weakness in China’s economy drove worries about the effects on global growth, overshadowing optimism that the United States is winning its battle against inflation and could avoid a recession. European markets were however marginally higher.

Nifty closed lower the opening levels, suggesting some intra-day profit taking. It formed a high wave type pattern after a rise, hinting at some consolidation. 19819-19612 could be the trading range for the Nifty in the near term.

The bulls continued to lift the market to new heights, but volatility emerged in the second half due to concerns over valuation. Rapid fall in the dollar index and a slide in the US 10-year yield is supporting liquidity in emerging markets. While disappointing economic growth in China and improvement in the US market outlook are drawing attention to the Indian market with the IT sector as the contra bet.

Today Sensex and Nifty continued their record-breaking rally, reaching new all-time high levels, amid fresh foreign fund inflows and buying in banking counters.

A positive trend in the US markets yesterday also contributed to the domestic benchmark indices optimism. The global market construct continues to be favourable for the bulls. Healthy consolidation can be the near-term trend.

Market is flush with FII inflows, which is the major driving force behind the rally in benchmark indices. While the market may be in an overbought zone, the undertone remains bullish due to India's strong economic performance and hopes that the US rate hike cycle could be nearing the end on the back of moderating inflation.

However, technically, intraday correction formation is indicating that a range bound activity is likely to continue in the near future. For Nifty, 19700 could be the key support level for day traders, below which a quick intraday correction till 19650-19600 is seen. On the flip side, as long as the index is trading above 19700, the uptrend wave is likely to continue and could rally till 19825-19875.

Indian rupee ended flat at 82.04 per dollar on Tuesday.

Benchmark indices ended higher amid volatility on July 18 with Nifty around 19,750.

At close, the Sensex was up 205.21 points or 0.31% at 66,795.14, and the Nifty was up 37.80 points or 0.19% at 19,749.30. About 1384 shares advanced, 1958 shares declined, and 118 shares unchanged.

Infosys, Asian Paints, HCL Technologies, Reliance Industries and Hero MotoCorp were among the top gainers on the Nifty, while losers included LTIMindtree, Britannia Industries, State Bank of India, HDFC Life and Titan Company.

BSE midcap index ended flat, while smallcap index shed 0.4 percent.

Among sectors, metal and realty indices down nearly 1 percent each, while power index up 0.6 percent and information technology index up 1 percent.

-Equal-weight rating, target at Rs 916 per share
-High channel inventories, increased pricing pressure & uncertain local demand show slower grind
-European peers have also guided down on demand, including for agrochemicals

Gold prices rose on Tuesday supported by a softer dollar, while investors awaited U.S. retail sales data that could have a bearing on the Federal Reserve's policy outlook as inflation shows signs of cooling.

Spot gold rose 0.4% to $1,961.67 per ounce by 0846 GMT. U.S. gold futures advanced 0.5% to $1,965.40.