Indian market witnessed a selloff on the F&O expiry day on Thursday weighed down by muted global cues as the death toll from coronavirus rose t0 170 in China.
The S&P BSE Sensex plunged by about 300 points while Nifty50 saw a cut of nearly 100 points. Sensex & Nifty slipped the most in January series since August 2019.
A Chinese government economist said with the crisis hitting sectors from mining to luxury goods, the crisis could cut first-quarter growth of the world’s second-largest economy by one point to 5 percent or lower, Reuters reported.
Back home, let’s look at the final tally on D-Street --- the S&P BSE Sensex fell 284 points to 40,913 while the Nifty50 closed 93 points lower at 12,035.
Sectorally, profit-taking was seen in the S&P BSE Energy index, followed by oil & gas, FMCG, and metal indices.
The broader markets underperformed as the S&P BSE Midcap index was down 1.4 percent, while the S&P BSE Smallcap index was down 0.95 percent.
For the series, Sensex was down 0.6 percent while the Nifty closed lower by 0.7 percent. The Nifty Bank plunged 4.2 percent, followed Nifty Metal which was down 4 percent, and the Energy index closed 2.9 percent lower.
The Nifty IT was up 4 percent, followed by the Nifty FMCG index that rose 2.9 percent, and the Nifty Pharma index which was up 3 percent.
Experts are of the view that slowdown fears have gripped market again led by Coronavirus which is now spreading to other countries. India has also confirmed one case of the virus in Kerela.
"Fears of economic slowdown as the coronavirus spreads to other nations has dampened the mood of investors across the globe. A slew of results announced so far failed to provide a picture of economic revival with banks disappointing due to weak asset quality that triggered profit booking,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services Ltd told Moneycontrol.
“With expectations high, the market to stay focused on the upcoming budget for further green shoots in the economy,” he said.
Top Nifty gainers: ICICI Bank, Power Grid, Bajaj Auto, Eicher Motors
Top Nifty losers: RIL, ZEE Entertainment, Bajaj Finserv, and YES Bank.
Stocks & Sectors:
Sectorally, the S&P BSE Energy index was down 2.2 percent, followed by the S&P BSE Oil & Gas index which was down 1.8 percent, and the FMCG index plunged 1.7 percent.
Volume spike of 100-300% was seen in stocks like Dabur India, Tata Power, Colgate Palmolive, Bajaj Auto, and Aurobindo Pharma.
Long Buildup – Shree Cement, Asian Paints, HDFC
Short Buildup – UBL, Tata Power, Tech Mahindra, Aurobindo Pharma
As many as 50 stocks on the BSE hit their fresh 52-week highs that include names like Dixon Tech, Bajaj Finance, SRF, Info Edge, PVR, Avenue Supermarts, and Jubilant FoodWorks.
Stocks in news:
The share price of Escorts jumped 9 percent after the tractor-maker reported a 9.27 percent increase in net profit at Rs 153.1 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2019. Research firm HSBC has initiated a buy rating on the stock and has raised the target to Rs 900 from Rs 830 per share.
Strides Pharma Science share price spiked nearly 5 percent after the company posted a strong set of numbers for the quarter ended December 2019, with the profit rising 358 percent on a year-on-year basis.
The Ramco Cements share price declined nearly 3 percent after HSBC reiterated the reduce call after post December quarter result.
Godrej Consumer Products share price declined over 7 percent after the company reported mixed performance of the international business.
Technical View:
Nifty formed a bearish candle or a bearish belt hold pattern on the daily charts.
The index slipped below its crucial 50-Days EMA placed at 12,085.
We are heading towards the penultimate session before major economic event Budget 2020 – volatility will remain high.
On the upside 12,150-12,200 is likely to act as a crucial hurdle for the index
Traders are advised to remain neutral on the long side whereas intraday shorting can be considered if Nifty trades below 11,990 for a target of 11,930
Three levels: 12010, 12150, 12200
