Taking Stock | Market ends lower for seventh straight day amid volatility; all eyes on RBI policy

Indian benchmark indices ended lower for the seventh straight session amid high volatility on expiry day (September 29) as investors awaited the outcome of RBI policy meeting, expected on September 30.

After a positive start for the day, market gave up the gains in the mid-session and turned negative. However, buying in the healthcare, metal and FMCG names helped indices to erase some of the intraday losses.

At Close, Sensex was down 188.32 points, or 0.33%, at 56,409.96, and the Nifty was down 40.50 points, or 0.24%, at 16,818.10.

Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto and Titan Company were among the top losers on the Nifty. However, gainers included ONGC, ITC, Apollo Hospitals, Hindalco Industries and HDFC Life.

On the sectoral front, Nifty Pharma, PSU Bank indices gained 1 percent each, while FMCG, metal indices up 0.5 percent each. On the other hand Nifty IT and Energy indices fell nearly a percent each.

Stocks and sectors

On the BSE, power index shed 1.3 percent, while FMCG, metal and healthcare indices rose 1 percent each.

Broader indices outperformed the main indices with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices up 0.3-0.6 percent each.

A long build-up was seen in PVR, Abbott India and IRCTC, while a short build-up was witnessed in Vodafone Idea, Aarti Industries and Asian Paints.

Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 100 percent was seen in Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Vodafone Idea and Tata Chemicals.

More than 100 stocks touched their 52-week high on the BSE, including Aurionpro Solutions, Cipla, Cochin Shipyard, Rites and SAL Steel.

However, Birlasoft, Indian Energy Exchange, Intellect Design Arena, IOC, Mercator, Samvardhana Motherson International, Symphony and VST Tillers Tractors, were among the stocks that toched their 52-week low.

Also Read - DIIs turn net buyers in Indian equities despite worsening risk sentiment

Outlook for September 30

Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services

Deteriorated global economic environment has led to sharp surge in bond yields and dollar index which has instilled fears of recession. Given this backdrop, market is expecting RBI in its policy meeting outcome to raise interest rate by 50bps. Investors would also on Friday react to GDP and Initial jobless claim data due later today in the evening.

With key events lined up, and global uncertainties, we expect increased volatility. Nifty has been unable to sustain above 17,000 levels and could witness pressure towards 16600-16650 zones over the next few days.

Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities

Benchmark Indices ended slightly down with Nifty 50 closing -0.24% down and Sensex closing -0.33% down today.

Auto sales for the month of September will be coming soon and we expect healthy growth across the segments (2W, 4W and CV). Investors can accumulate quality stocks in this sector for good return in the medium term.

On the technical front, immediate support and resistance in Nifty 50 are 16700 and 17200 respectively. Immediate support and resistance in Bank Nifty are 37250 and 38250, respectively.

Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities

Market was extremely volatile on the F&O expiry day, and traders preferred to cut their position in some of the rate-sensitives ahead of the credit policy announcement.

The market is already in an oversold position and if the rate hike is above the estimate, then we could see bouts of intra-day volatility with a negative bias for some more time.

Technically, despite a solid start, the benchmark Nifty failed to sustain above the 200-day SMA (Simple Moving Average) or 17000 level.

In the intraday time frame, the index has formed a double top formation and conversely it is consistently taking support at 16800. As long as the index trades above 16800, the chances of a quick pullback rally is bright. Above the same, the index could retest 16950-17000 levels. However, below 16800, the index could slip till 16700-16650.

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