Indian benchmark indices failed to carry on the previous session's gains and ended with no change on August 22 with Sensex closing 3.94 points or 0.01 percent higher at 65,220.03, and the Nifty adding 2.90 points or 0.01 percent to end at 19,396.50.
After a subdued start, the market traded in a tight range but remained in green territory for the most part of the session but in the final hour, erased all the gains to close on a flat note.
Adani Enterprises, HDFC Life, ITC, NTPC and Hero MotoCorp were among the top gainers on the Nifty, while losers were BPCL, Cipla, Bajaj Finserv, Eicher Motors and TCS.
Among sectors, except Information Technology, Pharma and PSU Bank, all other indices ended in the green with Capital Goods and Power adding 1 percent each, while Metal and FMCG rose 0.5 percent each.
The broader indices, BSE midcap and smallcap, outperformed the benchmarks as both the indices touched fresh record highs in today's trading session.
A long build-up was seen in BHEL, GMR Airports Infrastructure and Tata Communications, while a short build-up was seen in Colgate Palmolive, Aurobindo Pharma and Glenmark Pharma.
Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 600 percent was seen in Grasim Industries, HDFC Life and Colgate Palmolive.
Bharat Forge, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Eveready Industries, 63 Moons Technologies, Lemon Tree Hotels, Escorts Kubota, Trent, Thomas Cook, Emami, Brigade Enterprises, Salzer Electronics, Praj Industries, Welspun India, Kalyani Forge, South Indian Bank, NBCC, Minda Corporation, Linde India, touched their 52-week high on the BSE.
Outlook for August 23
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities:
Markets ended flat with a positive bias in an extremely lacklustre trading session, as traders preferred to stay on the sidelines after the choppy trades over the past week or so. Despite the range-bound session, buying activity was seen in power and capital goods stocks, while IT stocks fail to delivery, despite a strong upsurge in the tech-heavy Nasdaq in overnight trades.
On the technical front, the market is witnessing a non-directional activity on the higher side and finding resistance near 19450, while on the lower side the index is regularly taking support near 19375. Any fresh uptrend is possible only after the dismissal of 19450, and above the same the index could rally till 19500-19525. On the flip side, dismissal of 19375 could accelerate the selling pressure and the index could slip till 19325-19300.
Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking:
Markets traded range bound and ended almost unchanged amid mixed cues. After the marginal uptick, the Nifty oscillated in a narrow band and finally settled around the day’s low to close at 19396.45 levels. Meanwhile, a mixed trend on the sectoral front kept the traders busy wherein metal, FMCG and auto attracted buying while banking and IT ended subdued. Amid all, buoyancy on the broader front was the key highlight as both midcap and smallcap edged higher and gained nearly a percent each.
We see the recent rebound as a counter move within the corrective trend as Nifty has multiple hurdles to cross to change the tone. Meanwhile, a mixed trend across sectors is offering opportunities on both sides. Participants should align their trades accordingly while keeping a check on position size.
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