The Indian benchmarks ended the day largely on a flat note on August 12 ahead of the crucial economic data. Though the day was a lacklustre one, the week marked the longest stint of weekly gains since mid-January as it was the fourth consecutive week where the markets ended on a higher note.
At close, the 30-pack BSE Sensex was 130.18 points or 0.22 percent up at 59,486 while the Nifty ended the day with a gain of 39.15 points or 0.22 percent at 17,698.15.
The Sensex gained 1.87 percent during the week while the Nifty edged higher by 1.77 percent.
The market participants are awaiting the data related to IIP (index for industrial production), CPI inflation as well as GDP growth. Experts suggest that the IIP for July is expected to tank 50 percent compared to June which can cause some volatility in the markets in the coming week.
“Return of FIIs and declining dollar index aided the market rally”, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Oil and gas stocks were in focus as the government diverted some natural gas from industries to city gas operators in an effort to moderate the prices of CNG and piped cooking gas.
The global markets ended on a flat-to-negative note as the US markets took a breather yesterday after rallying on the back of better-than-expected inflation data the day before.
The Indian markets traced their global counterparts and traded in a range for a major part of the day before buying erupted on positive cues from European markets during the second half which pulled the Sensex higher.
“World stocks headed for a fourth straight week of gains on Friday as investors scaled back views on how far U.S. interest rates and inflation can climb, while oil recouped some of the previous week's losses”, said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.
Divi's Labs, Apollo Hospital, Infosys, Maruti Suzuki, and Tata Consumer Products were the top losers on the Nifty with each of these stocks losing between 1.3 to 5.6 percent.
The top gainers on the Nifty were ONGC, Tata Steel, NTPC, UPL, and Power Grid Corp with each of them gaining between 2.3 to 4.8 percent.
Among sectors, Nifty IT and Nifty Pharma were the top losers of the day as each of them was down 1.15 percent at the close. Nifty FMCG ended the day marginally lower while all other sectoral indices were marginally up at closing. The Nifty Metal index rose the most with gains of 1.64 percent while Nifty Realty was up 0.65.
Stocks & Sectors
On the BSE, the BSE Oil & Gas index gained the most as it rose 2.47 percent BSE Energy index was up 2.15 percent. BSE Healthcare was the biggest laggard of the day as it was down 1.02 percent and BSE IT lost 0.76 percent.
The broader indices displayed strength today and ended the day on a strong note with BSE Midcap gaining 0.15 percent and BSE Smallcap gaining 0.39 percent.
The India VIX, which indicates the degree of volatility traders expect over the next 30 days, declined sharply by 4.07 percent from 18.36 to 17.6.
A long build-up was seen in Bharat Forge, Indraprastha Gas Ltd, and ONGC while a short build-up was formed in Ipca Labs, Divi’s Labs, and HDFC AMC.
Among specific stocks, a volume spike of more than 1,000 percent was witnessed in India Cements and Divi’s Labs while Power Finance Corporation saw a volume spike of ~800 percent.
More than 120 stocks touched their 52-week highs on the BSE including Adani Enterprises, Adani Transmission, APL Apollo, and Cummins India.
Outlook for August 16
Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd
Markets consolidated in a narrow range and ended marginally higher, taking a breather after the recent surge. After the flat start, the tone was positive for most of the session; however, profit taking in the last two hours trimmed the gains. Consequently, Nifty closed at 17,698; up by 0.2%. The sectoral pack traded mixed - Oil & Gas, Metal and Power ended with gains whereas Healthcare and IT were the top losers.
Markets will react to the macroeconomic data viz. IIP and CPI and other global cues in early trade on Tuesday. The recent buoyancy on the global front combined with rotational buying across sectors are pointing towards the prevailing up move to extend further with intermediate pause. Participants should align their positions accordingly.
Gaurav Ratnaparkhi, Head of Technical Research, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas
The Nifty has posted a fourth consecutive positive weekly close. On the way up, it crossed several short-term hurdles and has reached a crucial trendline drawn from the October 2021 high. For the last couple of sessions, the index is hovering near this trendline.
In terms of the levels, 17,750-17,800 is the crucial zone that will determine whether the Nifty continues with its northward journey. Thus, a staggered profit booking is recommended for the Nifty short-term traders; while the positional traders can continue to ride the trend, they need to tighten the reversal level to 17,500.
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities
Nifty traded in a tight range as no directional urgency was visible on the last day of the week. On the weekly chart, the Nifty has gained for the fourth week in a row suggesting an ongoing bullish trend. Despite the proximity to the trend line resistance, the trend remains strong. On the higher end, 17,750-17,800 is likely to remain strong. A decisive breakout above 17,800 may induce a further rally in the market. On the lower end, support is visible at 17,300.
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