Sensex and Nifty ended their seven-day gaining streak on Wednesday as profit-booking and concerns over tariffs unnerved sentiment on Dalal Street. Sensex closed 729 pts lower to 77,288 and Nifty fell 182 points to 23,487. Investor wealth fell to Rs 411.61 lakh crore on BSE today against Rs 414.94 lakh crore on Tuesday.
Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities said, "Nifty has formed a bearish candle on the daily charts, which supports further weakness from the current levels. We are of the view that, as long as the market is trading below 23,600/77500, weak sentiment is likely to continue. On the downside, it could retest the levels of 23,400-23,330/77000-76800. On the other hand, if it moves above 23,600/77500, the sentiment could change, and the market could bounce back up to 23,700-23760/77800-78000. Contra traders can take a long position near 23,330/76800 with a strict stop loss at 23,300/76650."
Before today's crash, Sensex and Nifty had approached their two-month high powered by a rally of seven sessions.
Sensex zoomed 4,189 points and Nifty added 1270 points in seven sessions, marking a much awaited relief rally post six-month market correction.
But the bulls' party on Dalal Street could not last for long.
The uncertainty on the tariff front ahead of April 2 deadline spooked investors across the world. Profit booking after a rally of seven sessions also dragged sentiment on the benchmark indices. The monthly expiry of derivatives tomorrow also unnerved market participants.
Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities said, "Nifty has formed a bearish candle on the daily charts, which supports further weakness from the current levels. We are of the view that, as long as the market is trading below 23,600/77500, weak sentiment is likely to continue. On the downside, it could retest the levels of 23,400-23,330/77000-76800. On the other hand, if it moves above 23,600/77500, the sentiment could change, and the market could bounce back up to 23,700-23760/77800-78000. Contra traders can take a long position near 23,330/76800 with a strict stop loss at 23,300/76650."
Devarsh Vakil - Head of Prime Research, HDFC Securities said, "Nifty has retreated more than 400 points from its recent high of 23,869 but remains positioned above key moving averages. Immediate support is placed near 23,400, coinciding with 100 and 200-day exponential moving averages. A strong support exists at 23,141, representing a 38.2% retracement of the recent upmove. Potential resistance levels are anticipated at 23,600 and 23,869."
Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking said, "On the technical front, Nifty is approaching its key support zone near the major moving averages ribbon around 23,400. A decisive hold at this level could trigger the next leg of the uptrend; otherwise, the consolidation phase may persist. Despite prevailing challenges, we maintain a positive market outlook and recommend a stock-specific approach, focusing on those demonstrating relative strength."
Meanwhile, Zomato, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank, Infosys, SBI and Maruti were the top Sensex losers falling up to 3.54%.
BSE midcap index slipped 280 pts to 41,624 and BSE small cap stock index tanked 684 pts to 46,385 level. All 19 BSE sectoral indices ended in the red.
BSE banking index slipped 645 pts to 58,934 and BSE healthcare index fell 573 pts to 41,422. BSE oil and gas index slipped 382 pts to 24,727.
As many as 64 stocks hit their 52-week highs today. On the other hand, 281 shares fell to their 52-week lows on BSE.
Out of 4,143 shares traded, 919 stocks ended in the green on BSE. Around 3115 stocks were in the red and 109 stocks remained unchanged.
Around 7 stocks hit their lower circuits. On the other hand, 15 shares hit their upper circuit limits amid highly volatile sentiment on BSE and NSE.
Previous session
Sensex closed 33 pts higher at 78,017 and Nifty rose 10 points to 23,668.65 on Tuesday. Investor wealth stood at Rs 414.94 lakh crore on BSE.