The Indian equity benchmark ended lower after yet another volatile session on January 12, as investors remained cautious ahead of IT earnings and domestic as well as US inflation data, which can have a bearing on central banks' interest rate hike decisions.
The Sensex ended 147.47 points, or 0.25 percent, lower at 59,958.03, and the Nifty fell 37.50 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 17,858.20.
After a muted start, the market drifted into the red and widened losses as the day progressed but buying at lower levels helped erase some of the intraday losses.
"The domestic market continued to remain volatile as investors eagerly awaited the earnings of other IT majors after a cautious warning from TCS," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Foreign investors continue to dump Indian equities in search of cheaper investment avenues. Uncertainties over upcoming inflation numbers at home and the US kept the domestic market unstable, even as the western peers stayed optimistic, he said .
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Stocks and sectors
Divis Labs, Reliance Industries, BPCL, Axis Bank and Tata Motors were among the top losers on the Nifty, while gainers were SBI Life Insurance, UltraTech Cement, Larsen and Toubro, HCL Technologies and Cipla.
| Index | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sensex | 57,527.10 | -398.18 | -0.69% |
| Nifty 50 | 16,945.05 | -131.85 | -0.77% |
| Nifty Bank | 39,395.35 | -221.55 | -0.56% |
| Biggest Gainer | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cipla | 877.25 | 8.15 | +0.94% |
| Biggest Loser | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bajaj Finserv | 1,240.65 | -49.35 | -3.83% |
| Best Sector | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty Pharma | 11755.35 | -25.55 | -0.22% |
| Worst Sector | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty Metal | 5372.90 | -124.95 | -2.27% |
Among sectors, Nifty Bank, energy, infra, FMCG, and PSU bank indices ended on a negative note, while the information technology index was up 0.4 percent.
The BSE midcap and smallcap indices ended flat.
On the BSE, the oil & gas index fell 1 percent, the bank index 0.5 percent and the FMCG index lost 0.4 percent. On the other hand, capital goods, power and information technology indices added 0.3-0.8 percent.
PNB Housing Finance, CG Power, Rico Auto Industries and Donear Industries were among the stocks to touch their 52-week high on the BSE.
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Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 100 percent was seen in Navin Fluorine International, PVR and Divis Laboratories.
A short build-up was seen in Divis Laboratories, Bharti Airtel and Laurus Lab, while a long build-up was seen in PVR, NMDC and Multi Commodity Exchange of India.
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Outlook for January 13
Ajit Mishra, VP - Technical Research, Religare Broking
The majority of sectoral indices traded in tandem with the benchmarks and ended lower, as the pressure in energy and banking majors weighed on the sentiment.
On January 13, markets will react to the IT majors Infosys and HCL Technologies numbers in the early trade. Global markets' reactions to the US inflation number will also be on the radar.
On the benchmark front, we feel the prevailing tussle around 17,800 in Nifty will end soon. Meanwhile, the focus should be on sector/stock-specific opportunities while keeping a check on position size.
Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services
Domestic equities continued its gradual downward momentum ahead of US and India CPI data to be released late today. Nifty opened higher but soon drifted in negative territory to close with loss of 38 points at 17,858 levels. Except Realty, IT and Auto sector, all other ended in red.
In the near term, investors will take cues from inflation data as this will provide direction to central banks for rate hike.
IT sector too would remain in focus after Cyient reported better than expected results while Infosys reported decent numbers.
Management commentary and growth guidance would be the key driver for the sector. Momentum likely to continue in metals with surge in copper prices to 6 months high fueled by china reopening and weakening dollar.
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities
On the day of weekly expiry, the benchmark indices witnessed a volatile trading session, the Nifty ended 37 points lower while the Sensex was down by 147 points.
Among Sectors, some buying interest was seen in Media and selective IT stocks whereas profit booking continued in Oil and Gas and banking stocks.
Technically, after morning correction once again the index took the support near 17,770/59,700 and bounced back sharply. On daily charts, market consistently taking support near 17,770/59,700.
We are of the view that, as long as the index is holding 17,800/59,800 the market is likely to continue the pullback wave. Above 17800/59800 the chances of hitting 18,000/60,500 would turn bright.
On the flip side, fresh sell off is possible only after dismissal of 17,770/59,700. Below which, the index could slip till 17,650-17,600/59,500-59,200.
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