Closing Bell: Sensex slips below 60000, Nifty drops 38 points to report 3rd successive loss

Closing Bell: Indian frontline indices S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 retreated on Thursday marking their third consecutive loss. Banks and energy stocks were at the receiving end as selling pressure mounted on the day of expiry. While Sensex slipped below 60,000 to end the day at 59,958.99, down 147.51 points or 0.25 per cent while the broader market Nifty50 closed at 17,858.20, lower by 37.50 points or 0.21 per cent. Banking gauge Nifty Bank finished at 42,082.25, down 150.45 points or 0.36 per cent. 

Market breadth in the 50-stock Nifty50 was evenly split with 25 stocks settling with declines. The top gainers were SBI Life, UltraTech Cement Company, HCL Technologies, Larsen & Toubro and Dr Reddy's Laboratories while the top losers were Divi's Laboratories, Reliance Industries, BPCL, Axis Bank and Tata Motors. 

Source: NSE

Source: NSE

India VIX, a measure of volatility in Nifty was down by over 1 per cent at 15.28. 

Broader markets were mixed and saw stock specific action. Nifty Mid Cap 100 ended at 31,360.10, down 0.31 points while Nifty Small Cap 100 closed flat at 9,647.65. 

Meanwhile, IT major Infosys announced a 9.5 per cent jump in its net profit for the quarter ended 31 December 2022. The result was announced after market hours. Infosys shares today ended at Rs 1,482.95 on the NSE and were up by Rs 11.70 or 0.80 from the Wednesday closing price. 

Rupee continued its winning run as it closed with gains of 11 paise against the USD at 81.57 (provisional), tracking the overall weakness in the American currency. However, a muted trend in domestic equities and sustained foreign fund outflows capped the gains in the rupee, PT reported quoting traders. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened strong at 81.54, but lost ground to quote an intraday low of 81.74 against the greenback. It finally ended at 81.57 (provisional), registering a rise of 11 paise over its previous close.

On Wednesday, the rupee settled at 81.68 against the US dollar. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, declined 0.17 per cent to 103.01, PTI report said.

Expert Take

"The Nifty has closed in the red for the third consecutive day down ~327 points. The Nifty has managed to hold on to the zone of 17750 – 17800 for the third occasion indicating that bulls are rushing in to buy at crucial support level.in terms of pattern we believe that the Nifty is forming a base triangle and is currently in the final leg of that pattern. Once this pattern is complete the nifty is likely to resume its rise towards the upper boundary (18300) of the broad trading range 17800 – 18300. The hourly momentum indicator has triggered a positive crossover and is also showing divergence indicating that the momentum on the downside is weakening and the Index is likely to start a fresh leg of upmove in the next few trading sessions. Overall, from short term perspective the Nifty is likely to trade within the broad range 17800 – 18300 and in terms of levels 17750 – 17800 is a crucial support zone while 18000 – 18100 shall act as immediate hurdle zone." - Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas

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