Earlier in the day, benchmark indices fell sharply after the Bharatiya Janata Party’s loss in the crucial assembly elections in West Bengal and weakness in heavyweights like Reliance Industries.
India’s COVID-19 cases hit their record high of 20 million earlier today but media reports said that scientists are predicting a peak in the new cases in the coming days, which should help ease the strain on the country’s healthcare system.
For the day, the Nifty50 index ended flat at 14,634.15, while the BSE Sensex closed 0.1 per cent lower at 48,718.5.
Here are the major movers from today’s session:
RIL slumps as earnings disappoint
Shares of the country’s highest valued company slumped nearly 2 per cent after analysts were disappointed by the company’s performance for the quarter ended March. Although RIL reported better-than-expected bottomline for the quarter, analysts were concerned that pressures are building in for potential downgrade to earnings in the coming quarters.
Sugar stocks on a high
Shares of prominent sugar companies soared 10-15 per cent during the session on rising optimism in the commodity’s price. Domestic sugar prices have rallied nearly 8-10 per cent over the past month reflecting optimism over demand and easing concerns of any surge in production given the end of crushing season.
AU Small Fin Bank slumps
Shares of the small finance bank plummeted 8 per cent, adding to the near-10 per cent fall on Friday, as untimely disclosures over the resignation of the lender’s chief audit officer raised concerns over corporate governance. While the management said that the audit officer resigned due to personal reasons, the surging bad loans of the bank in March quarter did little to convince the investors.
Steel stocks continue to soar
Shares of steel producers continued to rise driven by another price hike undertaken by companies in April. Overall, steel companies undertook four price hikes since the start of April, reflecting robust global demand for the commodity aided by the re-opening of Western economies post vaccination.
What gave the buy signal?
As many as 63 companies listed on the National Stock Exchange gave buy signals based on the MACD indicators, including Marico, Fortis Healthcare, Tata Chemicals,
and .
What’s ahead for the market?
Traders aggressively sold both the out-of-money call and put options of the Nifty50 index, suggesting that they were indecisive over the direction the market could take in the coming sessions. In the futures segment, traders added large positions in the May contract of the Nifty50 as open interest rose 9.5 per cent.
On the technical front, Manish Hathiramani, technical analyst at Deen Dayal Investmentstook said that the index took a sharp U-turn from the 14,400 level to revisit the resistance of 14,700. “If we can get past this level and stay above it, we still have reasons to target 15,100. If we break 14,400, we could slip further to 14,100,” he said.
