Indian equity benchmarks on Thursday settled lower amid volatile trade, extending their fall for the seventh straight day. The domestic indices started higher, mirroring Asian peers, but gave up all of their gains in line with the weaker trend in the broader markets. Investors also awaited the RBI's policy outcome -- due on September 30. Further, the expiry of September series futures and options (F&)) contracts put the indices under pressure.
Except for Japan's Nikkei index, which climbed 0.95 per cent today as Britain's central bank launched an emergency bond-buying programme, most other Asian shares traded lower or on a flat note. South Korea's KOSPI edged 0.07 per cent up, the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.13 per cent higher and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.49 per cent.
US stocks set to trade lower as S&P Futures cracked 0.97 per cent, Nasdaq futures tanked 1.28 per cent and Dow Futures fell 0.73 per cent, reversing the overnight gains on Wall Street.
Back home, the benchmark BSE Sensex fell 188 points or 0.33 per cent to close at 56,410, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 41 points or 0.24 per cent lower to settle at 16,818.
Here are the share market highlights:
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Given the fact that central banks around the world have raised their benchmark rates, RBI is likely to front load its policy actions with interest rate hikes to contain inflation without hurting medium-term growth prospects, said Virat Diwanji, Group President and Head – Consumer Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank. "There is no doubt on whether the benchmark repo rate would raise or not, the debate is how much- 35 to 50 basis points hike in the upcoming policy and what would be the peak level at the end of the fiscal before we see some flattening and/or tapering of interest rates," he added.
The Bank Nifty index immediate resistance on the upside is placed at 36,400 and a breach of this will witness some short covering move on the upside towards 39,000 levels, Kunal Shah, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities. "The lower-end support is placed at 37,500 and if breached will aggravate the sell-off towards 37,000-36,000 levels," he added.
Nifty failed to capitalize on the early gain as it faced tough resistance at the 17,000 levels leading to closing around 16,800, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities. "Going ahead, 16,800 is likely to act as crucial support and any drift below 16,800 on a sustained basis may attract selling pressure in the market. On the lower end, support is visible at 16,640. On the higher end, 17,050 is likely to remain a strong resistance," he added.
The domestic indices were extremely volatile on the F&O expiry day, and traders preferred to cut their position in some of the rate-sensitives ahead of the credit policy announcement, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd. "In the intraday time frame, the index has formed a double top formation and conversely it is consistently taking support at 16,800. As long as the index trades above 16,800, the chances of a quick pullback rally is bright. Above the same, the index could retest 16,950-17,000 levels. However, below 16,800, the index could slip till 16,700-16,650," he added.
The initial upticks of the domestic market were short-lived due to its weak global peers and declining rupee, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. Investors eagerly await the central bank's intervention to aid bank liquidity, curb currency depreciation, and provide updates on its monetary stance and GDP outlook, he added.
The overall market breadth stood strong as 1,888 shares advanced while 1,539 declined on BSE. The market capitalization (m-cap) of BSE listed companies stood at Rs 268.27 lakh crore.
Eight out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- settled in the red. Sub-indexes Nifty IT and Nifty Financial Services underperformed the NSE platform by falling as much as 0.92 per cent and 0.51 per cent, respectively. However, Nifty Pharma and Nifty FMCG climbed as much as 1.33 per cent and 0.89 per cent.
Mid- and small-cap shares finished on a lower note as Nifty Midcap 100 slipped 0.40 per cent and small-cap fell 0.63 per cent.
On the stock-specific front, Asian Paints was the top Nifty loser as the stock cracked 4.72 per cent to close at Rs 3,402. Hero MotoCorp, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Auto and Titan were also among the laggards. In contrast, Shree Cement, ONGC, Hindalco, ITC and Apollo Hospitals were among the top gainers.
Sensex slips 188 points or 0.33 per cent to close at 56,410, Nifty moves 41 points or 0.24 per cent lower to settle at 16,818
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Sensex slips 203 points or 0.36 per cent to trade at 56,396, Nifty moves 51 points or 0.30 per cent to trade at 16,808; Asian Paints, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto among top drags
Sensex falls 30 points or 0.05 per cent to trade at 56,569, Nifty moves 2 points 0.01 per cent lower to trade at 16,856
Shares of Polyplex Corporation Ltd fell 3.51 per cent to trade at Rs 1,980.
Sensex falls 260 points or 0.46 per cent to trade at 56,338, Nifty moves 64 points or 0.38 per cent to trade at 16,795; Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, Titan among top drags
At a time when Indian equity benchmarks have been losing heavy ground amidst a weakness in rupee and selling pressure from foreign investors, global financial major CLSA has said that data points from the bond and equity market hint that the Nifty could fall by as much as 30 per cent. (Read more)
Asian Paints, Titan, L&T, Tech Mahindra and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the top laggards on the NSE platform with their shares down as much as 4.10 per cent. In contrast, Apollo Hospitals, ONGC, Dr Reddy's, ITC and Sun Pharma were among the top gainers.