Indian markets ended lower for the third straight session on February 20 while Nifty managed to close just above 22,900, led by amid buying sell across the sectors barring IT and banks. Buying in broader indices also helped to recover intraday losses.
At close, the Sensex was down 203.22 points or 0.27 percent at 75,735.96, and the Nifty was down 19.75 points or 0.09 percent at 22,913.15.
HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies and Tata Consumer are among major losers on the Nifty, while gainers are Shriram Finance, NTPC, Adani Ports, M&M, Bharat Electronics.
BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 1 percent each.
On the sectoral front, auto, metal, oil & gas, media, power, realty, PSU Bank were up 1-2 percent, while bank index was down 0.5 percent.
More than 150 stocks touched their 52-week low on the BSE, including Natco Pharma, Kirloskar Oil, ITC, Kajaria Ceramic, Cera Sanitary, Birlasoft, Grindwell Norton, among others. Click here to view more
Outlook for February 21
Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities
Nifty continued to consolidate on Thursday and closed the day lower by 19 points. After showing weak opening the market shifted into an upside recovery in the early part and later shifted into a range bound movement for remaining part of the session.
A small positive candle was formed on the daily chart at the lows, technically this market action indicates a range bound movement in the market at the lows.
Nifty is currently placed near the strong support around 22700 levels (38.2% Fibonacci Retracement). A sustainable move above the initial hurdle of 23100 levels could confirm short-term bottom reversal for the market and that could pull Nifty to further highs. Hence, there is a possibility of an upside bounce in the next 1-2 sessions.
Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking
Markets remained subdued on the weekly expiry day, ending nearly unchanged amid the ongoing tussle. After an initial dip, Nifty fluctuated within a narrow range and closed flat at 22,912.90. Sectoral trends remained mixed, with metal, energy, and auto emerging as top gainers, while banking and IT underperformed. Meanwhile, broader indices extended their gains for another session, advancing nearly one and a half percent each.
The ongoing lack of sustained alignment between two key sectors—banking and IT—continues to create uncertainty among market participants, as other sectors are not in a position to drive a major trend. However, the recent rebound in broader indices has offered some relief. In this scenario, a cautious stance on the index is recommended, with close attention to banking and IT for potential signals. Meanwhile, select pockets across various sectors, except FMCG, are showing notable traction. Traders should prioritize identifying quality stocks while refraining from aggressive positions.
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