Taking Stock | Market ends flat; Sensex, Nifty fall over 1% each in Samvat 2078

In the Samvat 2078, BSE Sensex fell over 1 percent, while Nifty50 shed nearly 2 percent.

Indian benchmark indices ended marginally higher in yet another volatile session and extended the positive momentum for the fifth consecutive session on October 21 amid buying seen in the financials.

At Close, the Sensex was up 104.25 points or 0.18% at 59,307.15, and the Nifty was up 12.30 points or 0.07% at 17,576.30.

In the Samvat 2078, BSE Sensex fell over 1 percent, while Nifty50 shed nearly 2 percent.

The domestic market started on a negative note amid weak global cues and stayed in negative territory for the most part of the session. However, last-hour buying helped the indices to close near the day's high level.

"Selling emerged in the second half led by a weak start to the European market due to the fear of tight monetary policy. Domestic investors maintained their caution and began to book profits in anticipation of the truncated week," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"Good start to Q2FY23 results by Banks, IT, and FMCG stocks maintained stability in the market but Mid & Small caps were heavily impacted. The rise in credit growth to a 10-year high of 17.94% YoY in October added colour to financial stocks," Nair added.

Also Read: BSE, NSE to conduct one-hour 'muhurat trading' on Diwali; check timings, significance, other details

Stocks and sectors

Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, HUL and SBI Life Insurance were among the top Nifty gainers, while losers included Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Divis Labs, Adani Ports and UPL.

On the sectoral front, the Nifty Bank index gained 1.7 percent and the PSU Bank index rose 1.85 percent. However, selling was seen in the energy, pharma, infra, metal and Information Technology stocks.

BSE midcap and smallcap indices shed 0.5 percent each.

On the BSE, except Bank (up 2 percent), all other sectoral indices ended in the red with capital goods, healthcare, power, and metal indices down 0.5-1 percent.

A short build-up was seen in Laurus Labs, Berger Paints and Mphasis, while a long build-up was witnessed in Axis Bank, Canara Bank and RBL Bank.

Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 300 percent was seen in Atul, Rain Industries and Oberoi Realty.

On the BSE, South Indian BANK, Page Industries, Sun Pharma, Karnataka Bank, Kalpataru Power Transmission, ITC, Axis Bank touched their 52-week high.

Outlook for Next Week

Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking

Markets settled almost unchanged in a volatile trading session, in absence of any major trigger. After the initial uptick, the Nifty oscillated in a narrow range and finally settled at 17,576.30 levels. On the sectoral front, a mixed trend was witnessed where banking pack and realty posted decent gains whereas others traded subdued.

Markets have been showing resilience amid mixed cues however the participation is largely restricted to select sectors and stocks. Besides, inconsistency on the global front is also keeping the momentum in check. We reiterate view to stick with the top performers while keeping a check position size.

Amol Athawale, Deputy Vice President - Technical Research, Kotak Securities

There were not many fireworks on the Dalal Street on the eve of Diwali, but the only solace was that the markets managed to extend their winning run on the bourses, overcoming a small hiccup in late trades when volatility came into play for a short period.

Strong buying in banking stocks led to the recovery in markets. Technically, the Nifty successfully surpassed the 20 and 50 day SMA resistance mark which is largely positive.

It has also formed a long bullish candle on weekly charts that suggest further uptrend from the current levels.

For Nifty, 17500 and 17400 would act as key support zones. Above which, the index could move up to 17800-17950. On the flip side, if the index closes below 17500 or 50 day SMA mark, it could slip till 17400-17350.

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