After hitting fresh record highs, market indices turned volatile and ended flat on Tuesday as investors booked profits post the steep gains worldwide. Tracking weak cues from European and Asian equities, Sensex ended 49 points lower at 52,104 and Nifty fell 1.25 points to 15,313. Sun Pharma, ITC, HDFC were trading among the top losers today while RIL, L&T, Maruti were among the top gainers. Today, Sensex hit a record high of 52,516 and Nifty hit a lifetime high of 15,431.
Yesterday, Sensex climbed 609 points to end at 52,154 and Nifty gained 151 points to 15,314.
Top gainers today: List of 8 shares that rose up to 6%: PowerGrid, ONGC, NTPC, Kotak Bank
Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking said," Initially, supportive global cues led to a firm start however profit-taking at the higher levels trimmed all the gains as the day progressed. Markets are rewarding handsomely to those who are spending time on the selection of stocks and we expect this trend to continue. Also, we're seeing buying interest across the board but on a rotational basis. Traders should align their positions accordingly and keep a close watch on global indices for cues."
Sectorally, pharma, metal, PSU Banking and realty ended in the green. Meanwhile, IT, FMCG and private banks logged bearish closing.
"Despite bouts of profit booking throughout the day, the resurgence of corporate earnings coupled with continued FPI flows kept the bullish undertone intact", said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities.
Overseas, Asian stocks rose on Tuesday as investors were optimistic about the global economic recovery and expectations of low-interest rates.
Markets rose led by Nikkei after Japan's Fin Min said that economy recovering faster than it did after the financial crisis, while Chinese markets remain closed for Lunar Holiday.
US equity markets were closed on account of President's Day holiday. Futures, however, gained as investors hope for more stimulus from Govt. and speedy economic recovery.
European markets, however, opened lower by the afternoon session, as investors booked profits after the Euro zone's fourth-quarter GDP falls less than earlier estimated. European Union's statistics office Eurostat said GDP in the 19 countries sharing the euro contracted 0.6% quarter-on-quarter in the October-December period.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said,"Market, though volatile, kept its momentum during the morning hours, however, failing to hold on to it due to a weak opening of European markets. The downfall was aggravated by private banks, IT and FMCG stocks while mid and small caps continued their outperformance. Increased interest was seen in PSU Banks as the government shortlisted four banks for privatisation. The Indian market has been absorbing the global trend these days and we expect that to continue due to the lack of any major domestic event."
On the currency front, Indian rupee depreciated to 72.775, compared with its previous closing of 72.68. On the coronavirus front, the World Health Organization gave emergency use approval to AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccines on Monday.
Expressing views on markets closing, Sameet Chavan (Chief Analyst-Technical and Derivatives, Angel Broking) said," Yesterday's strong close coupled with favourable global cues in the morning, our markets managed to carry their momentum at the opening today. However, since we reached a crucial resistance zone of 15380 - 15500, markets saw some profit booking at higher levels. We remain cautious and advise against creating aggressive longs now. For the coming session, 15380 - 15430 remains to be a key resistance; whereas on the lower side, further weakness is possible after breaking below 15240. In this scenario, 15175 - 15100 can be retested."
Ashis Biswas, Head of Technical Research at CapitalVia Global Research said," Nifty 50 Index is still holding above the support level of 15250. It is critical to sustaining above the 15250 Nifty50 Index level to keep the short-term positive trend intact. It has observed volatility to expand in today's trading session indicating profit booking and stock distribution at a higher market level. Investors should buy on a breakout of 15370 and look for an exit around 15520. Overall, the investor should maintain a stop at 15250."
RailTel IPO opens today: Price band, lot size, issue size & other details
Stocks in news: Jet Airways, Titan, Future Retail, AstraZeneca Pharma, Indian Bank, TCS
Share Market Live: Sensex rises 250 points, Nifty at 15,300; SBI, M&M, Maruti top gainers