Indian equity benchmarks extended their previous session’s gains on February 17, supported by broad-based buying across sectors with strong interest in IT, FMCG, and banking stocks. However, profit booking in metal, and realty counters capped the upside.
After a weak opening, the market staged a smart recovery in the first hour and traded rangebound during the first half. However, fresh buying interest in the mid-session pushed the Nifty higher, helping the index touch the day’s high of 25,764.40.
At close, the Sensex was up 173.81 points or 0.21 percent at 83,450.96, and the Nifty was up 42.65 points or 0.17 percent at 25,725.40.
Broader markets outperformed the benchmarks, as Nifty Midcap index rising 0.3 percent and smallcap index adding 0.5 percent.
On the sectoral front, PSU Bank index up 2 percent, IT index up 1 percent, media index rises 0.6 percent, auto index up 0.5 percent, while metal down 1 percent and realty index down 0.3 percent.
Adani Enterprises, ITC, Bharat Electronics, Infosys, L&T were among major gainers on the Nifty, while losers are Eternal, Trent, Hindalco Industries, Reliance Industries and Tata Steel.
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| Index | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sensex | 75,502.85 | 938.93 | +1.26% |
| Nifty 50 | 23,408.80 | 257.70 | +1.11% |
| Nifty Bank | 54,413.40 | 655.55 | +1.22% |
| Biggest Gainer | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| UltraTechCement | 11,099.00 | 483.00 | +4.55% |
| Biggest Loser | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bharat Elec | 429.50 | -9.90 | -2.25% |
| Best Sector | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty Auto | 24599.10 | 404.00 | +1.67% |
| Worst Sector | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty Pharma | 22547.20 | -285.00 | -1.25% |
In stock specific action, Ola Electric Mobility share price fell to record low on Citigroup downgrade, Cochin Shipyard shares jumped 3.7% on bagging project worth Rs 5,000 crore, Infosys shares rose 2% on collaboration with Anthropic, Texmaco Rail & Engineering shared added 4% on winning order worth Rs 219.18 crore, Bajel Projects shares 3.7% on forming in JV with Al Sharif Contracting.
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More than 140 stocks touched their 52-week low, including Brainbees Solutions, Cello World, Ola Electric, Clean Science, Abbott India, C. E. Info Systems, Cohance Life, Blue Jet, Firstsource Solutions, Newgen Software, among others. Click to View More
More than 110 stocks touched their 52-week high, including Union Bank of India, Force Motors, Bank of India, Graphite India, L&T, SBI, Lupin, Max Financial, Astral, Kirloskar Oil, Indus Towers, Jindal Steel, among others. Click to View More
Outlook for February 18
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities
The index has continued its recovery but faced resistance near the 50DMA on the higher side. As a result, it may remain rangebound or witness a minor pullback, given the rejection at this critical moving average. The RSI has also entered a bearish crossover, indicating weakening momentum.
On the upside, resistance is placed at 25,800, above which the index could witness further strength. However, failure to move past 25,800 may trigger long unwinding, potentially dragging the index back toward the 25,500 level.
Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities
Today, the benchmark indices continued their positive momentum. The Nifty ended 43 points higher, while the Sensex was up by 174 points. Among sectors, PSU Banks was the top performer, rallying over 2.11 percent, whereas the Metal index lost the most, shedding over 1 percent.
Technically, after a gap-down open, the market took support near 25,600/83000 and bounced back sharply. On intraday charts, it is holding an uptrend continuation formation and also formed a bullish candle on daily charts, which is largely positive.
We are of the view that 25,600/83000 and 25,500/82700 remain the crucial support zones for traders. As long as the market is trading above these levels, the bullish momentum is likely to continue.
On the higher side, 25,800/83700 would act as an immediate resistance zone for the bulls. A successful breakout above 25,800/83800 could push the market towards 25,950-26,000/84200-84500. On the flip side, below 25,500/82700, the uptrend would become vulnerable.
Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
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