Rising Covid-19 cases in some parts of the country, chaos in the domestic bond market and surging global bond yields have forced investors to re-think their optimism for equities in the near term.
Cues from global markets were not ideal as stocks in Asian and European markets took a hit amid concerns over rising bond yields in the US.
For the day, the Nifty50 index ended 306.1 points or 2.0 per cent lower at 14,675.70, while the BSE Sensex closed at 49,744.32, down 2.3 per cent or 1,145.4 points.
In the broader market, midcap and smallcap stocks took less beating than their largecap peers as the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed 1.3 per cent and 1.2 per cent lower, respectively.
Here are the major movers in today’s trade:
RIL sinks as Future drama continues
Shares of Reliance Industries fell 3.5 per cent after the Supreme Court halted the company’s acquisition of Future Group’s retail and wholesale assets following a successful appeal by Amazon. Amazon had appealed an order passed by the Delhi High Court that had allowed the deal between RIL and Future Group to go through.
Metal stocks shrug off market mayhem
The Nifty Metal index emerged as the only sectoral index on the National Stock Exchange to end higher, given the rise in global commodity prices. The index ended 1.6 per cent higher led by gains in Hindalco Industries, Vedanta, and Tata Steel.
Hind Copper soars as copper prices hit decade high
Shares of
surged 14 per cent after global copper prices hit their highest level in more than 10 years on rising demand for the commodity and hopes of strong recovery in the global industrial activity.
Over 160 stocks hit 52-week high
Despite the broad-based sell-off in the market, shares of over 160 companies managed to hit their 52-week highs during the session including Vedanta, Jubilant Foodworks, and Varun Beverages.
What gave the sell signal?
As many as 71 stocks listed on the NSE gave sell signals today based on the MACD indicators. These included Axis Bank, RBL Bank, NCC, Tech Mahindra and Bajaj Finance.
What’s ahead for the market?
The high selling of 14,500 strike price put option of the Nifty50 index by options writers suggested that the benchmark could take support at that level going ahead. However, in the futures segment, traders added short positions in the February contract of the Nifty50.
“We should slide to 14,500, which should be the next level of support, failing which 14,300 would be the next target for the Nifty50. The resistance on the upside now stands at 15,100 and until we do not cross that, a rally up can be utilized to short the Nifty for lower targets,” said Manish Hathiramani, technical analyst at Deen Dayal Investments.
