Morning market: BSE Sensex down by 700 pts; Nifty over 200 pts

The BSE Sensex declined by 722.22 points or 0.99 per cent as of 9:55 am on Wednesday at 72,406.55, while Nifty 50 was down by 212.60 points or 0.96 per cent at 21,819.70.

As of 10:04 am, all sectoral indices, except for media, traded in the red, with Nifty Bank at 46,978.55, down by 2.38 per cent; Nifty Financial Services at 20,911.30, down by 2.50 per cent; Nifty private bank at 24,298.95; down by 2.22 per cent; Nifty Metal at 7,809.10, down by 1.67 per cent; and Nifty Auto at 18,500.75, down by 1.13 per cent. 

Commenting on the Nifty’s outlook, Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said, “Market is likely to turn slightly weak in the near-term, impacted by some negative global and domestic cues. The global negativity will come from rising bond yields in the US (the 10-year yield is at 4.04 per cent), responding to concerns that the sharp rate cuts expected from the Fed this year may not materialise. Now, indications are that the Fed is unlikely to cut in March, and the total cuts in 2024 may not be five or six that the market had partly discounted. This will be a drag on global equity markets.”

Vaishali Parekh, Vice-President – Technical Research, Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt, said the Nifty took a breather near the 22120 zone for the second session, after witnessing a decent rise from 21450 levels overall, maintaining a positive bias with volatility anticipated. “The near-term support visible from current levels in the 21700 zone, which is the lower band of the ascending channel pattern on the daily chart, and a decisive breach below, will weaken the bias to an extent. The support for the day is seen at 21900, while resistance is seen at 22200 levels,” Parekh added.

Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said, “Slippage past 22013 has taken away the near-term upside momentum, exposing 21835/790. While we hope this region to hold initially, inability to reclaim 22058 on the bounce, or direct slippage past 21760, could bring in 21200 as the likely downside objective.”

“Domestically, even though the economy is doing well and corporate earnings are good, all these positives are in the price, and valuations are elevated, warranting a correction. The mid and small-cap space is highly overvalued and is sustained at high levels by high liquidity in the system. Some profit-booking and moving the money to fixed income can be considered now,” Geojit’s Vijayakumar said.

Stocks that were top gainers on the NSE include Tata Consultancy Services, Larsen & Turbo, Apollo Hospitals, Coal India, and Titan. Meanwhile, HDFC Bank, Hindalco, Bajaj Auto, Tata Steel, and Axis Bank were the top losers.