Benchmark indices NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex ended Wednesday’s volatile session in the red. The NSE Nifty 50 fell 41.40 points or 0.23% to 17,618.75 and BSE Sensex tanked 159.21 points or 0.27% to 59,567.80. In sectoral indices, Bank Nifty fell 111.20 points or 0.26% to 42,154.00 and Nifty IT plunged 479.50 points or 1.77% to 26,687.45. The top gainers on Nifty 50 were BPCL, Divis Lab, Bajaj Auto, Axis Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra while the top losers were HCL Tech, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, SBI Life and NTPC.
“The dark clouds of weak Q4 numbers are haunting the domestic market leading to a consecutive third fall in the week. IT stocks continued their selling spree ahead of the release of earnings from other tech majors. Tepid cues from the global peers are also creating havoc as the market prices in the possibility of another rate hike by the Fed. The biggest risk for the market today is a downgrade in the corporate earnings forecast,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Where are NSE Nifty 50, Bank Nifty headed?
Nifty consolidation range likely to be 17500 – 17800
“Nifty traded within the range 17863 – 17574 of the penultimate trading session. The hourly Bollinger bands are contracting because of the sideways price action and are also suggesting rangebound price action. Both the Bulls and Bears are trying to defend their respective boundaries. The ideal strategy to trade this sideways consolidation is to take a contrarian view at the extremes of the range. So, traders should look for signs of strength around 17500 and go long. During this consolidation phase, we can expect sector rotation and stock-specific price action. The consolidation range is likely to be 17500 – 17800 for the next few trading sessions,” said Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.
Bank Nifty support at 42000, resistance at 42500
“Bank Nifty index continued to trade in a narrow range one day before the weekly expiry. The options data suggest support at 42,000 and resistance at 42,500 where put and call writing respectively is visible. The undertone remains bullish as long as the index holds the support of 42,000 on the downside,” said Kunal Shah, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.