Sensex Declines 311 points to 60,691, Nifty Down By 99 points; Rupee Strengthens 9 Paise

Falling for the second consecutive session, the BSE Sensex on Monday declined 311.03 points or 0.51 per cent to close at 60,691.54. The NSE Nifty also slipped by 99.6 points or 0.56 per cent to end at 17,844.6 points. The rupee, however, gained 9 paise to close at 82.73 (provisional) against the US dollar.

During the day, the 30-share Sensex opened higher by over 100 points at 61,112.84. It touched the day’s high of 61,290.19 and the day’s low of 60,607.02, before closing 311.03 points or 0.51 per cent down at 60,691.54.

Among the top gainers were UltraTech Cement (up 1.75 per cent), followed by Tech Mahindra (1.75 per cent), PowerGrid (0.91 per cent), Tata Motors (0.67 per cent), and Infosys (0.62 per cent) on the BSE. The top losers on HDFC (down by 1.33 per cent), followed by Maruti (-1.33 per cent), Kotak Mahindra Bank (-1.26 per cent), ICICI Bank (-1.18 per cent), and SBI (-1.09 per cent).

Vinod Nair, head of (research) at Geojit Financial Services, said, “Stocks are getting beaten ahead of the release of US Fed minutes on Wednesday. Maintaining its guard against inflation, the Fed is expected to remain hawkish. As expected, it is unlikely to have a dire effect on the global stock market. However, the consequence of constant high interest rates is causing a slowdown in demand & the earnings outlook, hence the near-term trend will be cautious.”

Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research (retail) at Kotak Securities, “Drubbing in banking stocks dragged down the markets today, which languished in the negative territory for major part of the trading session. Factors such as more pain going ahead through further rate hikes, rising inflation, and the recent Adani saga continue to weigh on investors’ minds. Also, Indian stocks are still expensive compared to China, and hence investors are taking this opportunity to curb their holdings. Technically, a bearish candle on daily charts is indicating further weakness from the current levels.”

He, however, added that the Nifty is trading near the 20-day SMA and the Sensex is trading near the important support level of 60,600. If the index succeeds to trade above 17,900, a quick pullback rally is not ruled out. Above which, it could move up to 18,000-18,125. On the flip side, a fresh selloff is possible only after the dismissal of 17,800 and below the same the index could slip till 17,730-17,700.

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