Equity benchmarks the Sensex and the Nifty ended February 7 flat after a choppy session, with the Nifty failing to defend the 22,000 mark despite opening above it. The indices squandered early gains as investors' focus shifted to the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy decision to be announced on February 8.
The Sensex closed 34.09 points down at 72,152, while the Nifty close 1.1 points higher at 21,930.50. About 1,954 shares advanced, 1,314 declined and 63 were unchanged.
Broader markets outperformed the benchmarks. Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.75 percent and Nifty smallcap 100 0.71 percent.
According to a Moneycontrol poll, the RBI is likely to leave the key interest rates unchanged on February 8. An overwhelming majority of the economists polled also said that the central bank would maintain the policy stance of withdrawal from accommodation in the meeting, thus largely continuing the policy approach taken in recent months.
Also Read: Moneycontrol Poll | RBI MPC to leave rate unchanged
Stocks and sectors
Nifty PSU Bank and realty were among the top sectoral movers, gaining 2.86 percent and 1.84 percent. IT and auto sectors saw profit booking. NSE advance-decline ratio was 1.4:1.
The top Nifty gainers were SBI, up 4.19 percent, Grasim 2.38 percent, HDFC Life 2.24 percent, JSW Steel 2.17 percent and Axis Bank ended 2.09 percent higher.
Stocks that dragged the index down were Infosys, TCS, HDFC Bank and Adani Ports.
About 270 stocks hit 52-week high including Zaggle Prepaid, UCO Bank, Yes Bank, Triveni Turbine and Canara Bank. Only eight stocks on the NSE sank to their hit 52-week low including Bannari Amman Sugars and Navin Fluorine.
A long buildup was seen in Trent, Delta Corp and Canara Bank, while a short buildup was seen in IEX, Navin Fluorine and Mahanagar Gas.
Also Read: High-quality, high-dividend-yielding stocks rally up to 60%: Do you have any of these?
Outlook for February 8
Sheersham Gupta, Director and Senior Technical Analyst Rupeezy, said the short-term trend is still on the upside as the Nifty has been forming higher highs and higher lows on the 30-minute timeframe.
"The call option premiums near at-the-money strike are significantly higher than the put option premiums for the weekly expiry. With supportive global cues and fall in the dollar Index, an upmove from here is more likely," he said.
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities, said sentiment remains somewhat weak. "Support is positioned at 21,850, and a breach below this level could potentially initiate a correction towards 21,700. On the upside, resistance is identified at 22,000," he said.
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