Dalal Street Corner: Sell-off IT, FMCG, metal force market to close in red for 2nd day; what should investors do on Wednesday?

The Indian market continued to trade range bound amid volatility as Nifty failed to give any decisive breakout even on Tuesday. Profit booking in IT, FMCG and metal stocks forced the benchmark indices to close in the red for the second day in a row. Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Hindalco, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, HC Tech, Infosys, Tata Steel were top laggards from these sectors, correcting up to six per cent on Tuesday.  

Nifty remained directionless during the day leading to volatility in the market, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.   

"On the higher end, 16400 is likely to remain a resistance over the near term. Support on the lower end remains at 16000-16020. Going ahead, the volatility may continue over the near term. Any decisive breakout above 16400 may induce a strong directional move in the market," said the expert.  

Meanwhile, underperforming the benchmark indices, Nifty Midcap and Smallcap declined 0.6% and .12% respectively.  

Nifty Bank, Auto and Financial indices managed to close in the green even as rising inflation weighed on the domestic equity market.  

As per, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, anxiety of slowing economy and rising interest rates underpinned by soaring inflation continued to haunt the global market. 

"The UK and Eurozone composite PMI registered the slowest rise in business activity in the month of May, worsening global investor risk sentiment," he said.  

On the domestic front, while all major sectors succumbed to the pressure, the auto sector bucked the market trend this month gaining on fuel price cut and rise in steel custom duty, the expert added.  

Speaking on the current trend, V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said There is no distinct trend in this whipsaw market.  

"Daily trading for the near-term is fraught with high risk. It would be better for investors to wait for the markets to consolidate," he advised. 

However, long-term investors can use the volatility to buy high quality stocks available at attractive valuations, the expert said. " Financials, particularly leading banks, are value buys now," he added.