Sensex falls 284 points, Nifty settles below 18,800; IDFC Bank falls 6%; HCC jumps 15%

Domestic equity markets snapped the two-day winning streak on Thursday amid weak global cues and weekly expiry of F&O contracts. The all-round profit booking pulled the indices lower along with hawkish commentary from the US Federal Reserve. For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex dropped 284.26 points, or 0.46 per cent, to settle at 63,238.89, while NSE's Nifty50 shed 85.60 points, or 0.45 per cent, to end the day at 18,771.25. In the broader markets, BSE midcap and smallcap indices dropped about a per cent each. Fear gauge India VIX rose more than 2 per cent to 11.55-level. Apart from weak global market cues, the US Federal Reserve's testimony that inflation would take longer to cool sent jitters amongst the investors as this would mean more rate hikes are in the offing. However, the highlight of the day was Sensex once again touching a new high before giving up gains due to profit-taking, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities. "Technically, on intraday charts, the Nifty has formed a double top formation and also formed a bearish candle on daily charts which is largely negative. For day traders, 18,850 would be the immediate resistance level. Below which, the market could retest the level of 18,700-18,650. On the flip side, a fresh uptrend rally is possible only after the dismissal of 18,850. Post the breakout, the Nifty is likely to rally till 18,900-18,935," he added. On a sectoral front, only Nifty metal and media indices managed to settle in green. All other sectors fell for the day with the NIfty PSU bank index sliding about 2 per cent. Nifty FMCG, realty, IT, Oil & Gas, consumer durables and pharma indices shed about a per cent each. In the Nifty50 pack, Bajaj Finance and Tata Consumer Products dropped more than 2 per cent, each, while Asian Paints, Tata Motors, Power Grid, Grasim Industries, UPL and Britannia Industries dropped about 2 per cent, each. Nestle, SBI Life and IndusInd Bank were the other key laggards. On the contrary, Divi's Labs was the only share to rise over a per cent, while Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel and HDFC Twin added about a per cent each. Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharat Petroleum and ITC were among the other key gainers for the day. The domestic market is currently witnessing increased volatility as it hovers around its historical peaks. This heightened volatility has also affected mid- and small-cap stocks, which have shown resilience, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. "Moreover, the weak global indicators have had an impact on the domestic market, as they experienced declines following concerns of potential rate hikes, prompted by comments from the Fed chair regarding the fight against inflation," he said. A total of 3,655 shares were traded on BSE on Thursday, of which 2,209 settled with declines. 1,317 stocks ended the session lower while 129 shares remained unchanged. A total of 152 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 131 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day. In the broader markets, Mishtann Foods dropped about 11 per cent, while Shaily Engineering Plastics were down 8 per cent. Kopran, India Cements, IDFC First Bank and Hari Om Pipes shed 6 per cent each, while Aditya Birla Capital settled 5 per cent lower. Among the gainers, RattanIndia Power surged 16 per cent, while Hindustan Construction Company rose 15 per cent. Uttam Sugar Mills advanced over 12 per cent, while Antony Waste Handling and Sequent Scientific gained 11 per cent each. Dish TV ended 9 per cent higher.