The Indian markets ended higher for the third session in a row on February 16 with marginal gains, with the Sensex rising 44.42 points or 0.07% at 61319.51, and the Nifty 20 points or 0.11% at 18,035.80.
Amid supportive global cues, the market started on a positive note and remained in the green for the most part of the session, however, last-hour selling in the blue-chip stocks erased most of the day's gains.
"The domestic market absorbed the buoyancy in the global market, led by IT stocks, while upstream oil companies gained as a result of the slash in windfall tax," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
"After robust jobs data, strong retail sales numbers in the US showed proof of resilience in the US economy amidst concerns over elevated inflation numbers. However, the gains were capped by worries that a stronger economy would attract a tighter monetary policy," he added.
Stocks and sectors
ONGC, Tech Mahindra, Apollo Hospitals, Divis Labs and Nestle India were among the major gainers on the Nifty, while losers were BPCL, Bajaj Finance, HUL, HDFC Life and M&M.
Among sectors, the Nifty information technology index rose over a percent and the pharma index 0.5 percent. Selling was seen in the auto and banking names.
The broader indices outperformed the benchmarks, with the BSE midcap and smallcap indices adding nearly a percent each.
| Index | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sensex | 81,101.32 | 314.02 | +0.39% |
| Nifty 50 | 24,868.60 | 95.45 | +0.39% |
| Nifty Bank | 54,216.10 | 29.20 | +0.05% |
| Biggest Gainer | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infosys | 1,504.30 | 71.40 | +4.98% |
| Biggest Loser | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trent | 5,218.50 | -97.00 | -1.82% |
| Best Sector | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty IT | 35255.90 | 945.45 | +2.76% |
| Worst Sector | Prices | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty PSU Bank | 6879.90 | -9.30 | -0.13% |
On the BSE, information technology, metal, capital goods and realty indices gained a percent each, while healthcare, oil & gas were up 0.5 percent each.
Bata India, Adani Green Energy, Bafna Pharmaceuticals, Adani Transmission, Thyrocare Technologies, MT Educare, Matrimony.com and BGR Energy Systems tocuhed therir 52-week low on the BSE.
Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 400 percent was seen in Mphasis, Nestle India and Hindustan Aeronautics.
A long build-up was seen in PI Industries, Hindustan Aeronautics and ONGC, while a short build-up was seen in Vodafone Idea, InterGlobe Aviation and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company.
Outlook for February 17
Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas
The Nifty opened on a positive note and witnessed price action during the first half of the session. It witnessed some profit booking around the zone of 18,100 - 18,150 and as a result the Nifty gave up most of the gains though closed the day on a positive note.
The hourly momentum indicator has triggered a negative crossover which indicates that a consolidation is likely in the near term.
On the way down the Nifty can retest the breakout zone of 18,000 – 17,950 where support in the key hourly moving averages are placed. The daily momentum indicator still has a positive crossover and thus incase of a dip it should be bought into and the strategy to trade would be to buy on dip near the support zone 18,000 – 17,950.
Today the Nifty has achieved our short term target of 18,100 and hence we revise the target upwards to 18,300 with a reversal of 17,850.
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities
Markets ended marginally higher in a trading session marked with extreme volatility. Traders seem to be taking a cautious stance, especially after the rout in Adani group stocks in recent weeks.
With inflation levels once again inching up, there are concerns that central banks worldwide could continue their rate hiking trend, which could further hurt growth and dampen sentiment.
On the technical front, a small bearish candle on daily charts is indicating a range bound activity in the near future. For the bulls, 17,950-17,900 would act as a key support zone while 18,150-18,200 would be the crucial resistance zone. However, below 17,900, the uptrend would be vulnerable.
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