Mkt Indicates A Largely Negative Trend

Mumbai: On Thursday, the benchmark indices witnessed profit booking at higher levels, the Sensex was down by 236 points. Among sectors, the IT index outperformed today, rallied 0.75 percent, whereas the Media index lost the most, shed over 2 per cent. Technically, after a muted open market consistently faced selling pressure at higher levels, it also formed a bearish candle on daily charts, indicating a largely negative trend.

Shrikant Chouhan, Head-Equity Research, Kotak Securities, said: “We are of the view that the intraday market texture is weak, but fresh sell-off is possible only after a dismissal of 81,000 below which level; the market could slip to 80,500-80,300.” On the other side, above 81,500, the sentiment could change. Above that level, the market could bounce back up to 81800. Further upside may also continue, which could lift the index up to 82,000.

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP-Research, Mehta Equities, said: “Investors traded with caution ahead of the announcement of inflation and IIP data and steadily cut their equity bets. There is lack of confidence amongst investors due to global uncertainty, rising US bond yields fuelling fund outflows, and persisting conflicts in the Middle East and West Asia.”

Domestic market closed lower with the BSE Sensex declining by 236 points, or 0.29 per cent, to finish at 81,289. Key sectors faced pressure, particularly PSU banks which continued their downward trend. Notable losers included NTPC, HUL, and Tata Motors. Conversely, stocks like Tech Mahindra and Infosys reached new 52-week highs.

Vaibhav Vidwani, Research Analyst, Bonanza, said: “Investors reacted to global cues as US markets showed mixed results amid inflation data that raised expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut. The broader market indices also reflected weakness, with the BSE Mid Cap and Small Cap indices down by 0.57 per cent and 0.90 per cent, respectively.”