Indian markets reversed the losses of the morning session to close near the day’s high in a highly volatile day of trade on March 28, supported by auto, bank, oil & gas and metal names.
At close, the Sensex was up 231.29 points, or 0.40 percent, at 57,593.49, and the Nifty was up 69 points, or 0.40 percent, at 17,222.
The market started the week on a negative note and remained under selling pressure on mixed global cues in the first half of the day. The market, however, recovered smartly in the second half to close near the day’s high.
"Benchmark Indices reversed early morning losses on positive global cues and hopes of the RBI opting for status quo at its policy meet scheduled during the first week of April," said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities.
The resumption of international flights energised hospitality stocks, while the consolidation in the media sector and positive tailwinds in the telecom space lent ammunition to the bulls despite an unfavourable advance-decline ratio.
The broader markets witnessed keen interest in state- run enterprises of Gujarat, with most of them posting yearly highs, he added.
Bharti Airtel, Coal India, Axis Bank, Eicher Motors and ICICI Bank were among the top Nifty gainers.
On the other hand, UPL, SBI Life Insurance, Nestle India, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and HDFC were among the big losers.
| Index | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sensex | 58,991.52 | 1,031.43 | +1.78% |
| Nifty 50 | 17,359.75 | 279.05 | +1.63% |
| Nifty Bank | 40,608.65 | 698.50 | +1.75% |
| Biggest Gainer | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reliance | 2,331.05 | 96.35 | +4.31% |
| Biggest Loser | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo Hospital | 4,310.90 | -52.10 | -1.19% |
| Best Sector | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty IT | 28698.60 | 687.30 | +2.45% |
| Worst Sector | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty Pharma | 12017.05 | 74.55 | +0.62% |
Among sectors, except Nifty IT and pharma, all other indices ended in the green, with PSU bank index adding 1 percent. The Nifty bank, auto, and metal indices rose 0.5 percent each.
Stocks and sectors
On the sectoral front, BSE Bankex and oil & gas indices gained a percent each, and auto and metal added 0.5 percent each. However, selling was seen in capital goods, IT and healthcare sectors.
The broader indices underperformed the benchmarks, with the BSE midcap and smallcap indices ending in the red.
A long build-up was seen in GNFC, PVR and Atul, while a short build-up was seen in the Container Corporation of India, Max Financial Services and Polycab India.
More than 150 stocks touched their 52-week high on the BSE. These include Usha Martin, Delta Corp, Tata Elxsi, Shoppers Stop and Adani Total Gas.
Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 400 percent was seen in Delta Corp, Balrampur Chini Mills and PI Industries.
Outlook for March 29
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services
The volatility is due to elevated commodity prices and the resultant downgrade of future earnings growth. The prices of products have been going up constantly and are expected to increase further, affecting demand and margin.
Uncertainties due to rising Covid cases, especially in China, also added to the weakness.
We can expect volatility to ease with the cessation of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, drop in commodity prices and easing of supply constraints.
Sachin Gupta, AVP- Research, Choice Broking
The Nifty wiped out early morning losses to close at 17,222, gaining 69 points. The Bank Nifty inched up 0.85 percent to close at 35710.50 levels.
Technically, the Nifty has been forming a Bullish Hammer Candlestick on the daily chart. It also closed above the 50-day exponential moving average, whichindicates positive moves in the coming day.
The MACD indicator suggested a positive crossover on the daily time frame. The index has support at 17,000, while resistance comes at 17,450 levels.
The Bank Nifty has support at 35,200, while resistance is at 36,300.
Gaurav Ratnaparkhi, Head of Technical Research, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas
The Nifty entered into consolidation mode in the previous week. The Fibonacci retracement shows that the consolidation is panning out near the 61.8 percent retracement of the January–March decline. The sideways action continued on March 28.
During the day, the index dipped towards the lower end of the range—17,000—where multiple support parameters induced the bulls into action, resulting in a sharp recovery from 17,000.
The overall structure suggests that the consolidation can continue in the 17000-17500 range and dips towards 17,000 will continue to offer buying opportunities for short-term traders.
Shrikant Chouhan, Head, Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities
Markets once again witnessed sideways movement but finally managed to end on a higher note because of sharp gains in banking and oil & gas stocks.
Technically, the Nifty again took support near 17,000 or the 200-day SMA and bounced back sharply to close above the 50-day SMA. But the broader texture of the market is still non-directional.
In the near future, as long as the index holds 17,100, the market is likely to retest 17,325-17,400. If the index falls below it, it could slide to 17,000-16,950.
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