Domestic benchmark indices snapped their six-day winning run on February 21 as traders booked profits. IT and oil & gas stocks were biggest drags on the indices.
The 30-share flagship Sensex settled 434.31 points, or 0.59 percent, lower at 72,623.09 and Nifty dropped 141.90 points, or 0.64 percent, to settle at 22,055.05. Broader markets continued to see selling as key indices fell over a percent.
“Investors turned cautious ahead of the outcome of the minutes of the US Fed's last meeting as profit-taking in IT, oil & gas, power and metals saw markets snap its 6-session winning streak. The minutes may indicate that the US Fed would wait for inflation to moderate further before giving up its hawkish stance on interest rates," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities.
Stocks and sectors
Most sectoral indices ended with cuts. Nifty Media was the biggest loser, down about 5 percent. Nifty Oil & Gas, and Nifty IT were other top losers falling more than a percent. Nifty Realty was the biggest gainer, up 2 percent. Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Metal were others that ended with gains.
Among Nifty 50 constituents, Tata Steel was the biggest gainer, up over 2 percent. SBI, IndusInd Bank, JSW Steel, Sun Pharma and Tata Consumer were other gainers in the pack.
Bharat Petroleum was the biggest loser in the pack, down about 4 percent. NTPC, Coal India, Power Grid and Wipro were other losers.
OUTLOOK for Feb 22
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services
The Indian market is facing stiff resistance at higher levels; the valuation of a broader index is at a significant premium, leading to an unfavourable risk reward, which influences investors to book profits. Global markets treaded cautiously awaiting the US FED minutes, while Chinese markets were buoyed by policy interventions. Concerns lingered since investors were heavily betting on a US FED rate cut, which is put at risk by January's higher-than-expected inflation.
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities
The Nifty has formed a bearish engulfing pattern on the daily chart, indicating a potential pause in the ongoing rally. The momentum indicator RSI is showing a bearish crossover, signaling weakness in the near term. Immediate support is positioned at 22,000; a decisive drop below this level could lead the index towards 21,700. On the upside, resistance is identified at 22,160.
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