The domestic equity market witnessed healthy gains on February 15 as the benchmarks the Sensex and the Nifty50 extended their gains into the second consecutive session even as global cues were mixed after the US inflation numbers came above market expectations.
As reported by Reuters, headline US consumer inflation came in at 6.4 percent year-on-year for January, a bit higher than the 6.2 percent economists had expected. Hopes that rates could be cut later this year grow dimmer.
Crude oil prices extended the previous day's losses amid reports of adequate supplies in the US. Moreover, concerns over rate hikes dented the outlook for economic growth and oil demand.
Brent Crude traded nearly 2 percent lower near the $84 per barrel mark. The rupee, however, slipped 4 paise to close at 82.80 per dollar.
Sensex opened 42 points lower at 60,990.05 and traded volatile for the most part of the day. At one point, it was down 282 points to 60,750.32. However, the index managed to end in the green with decent gains in IT and auto stocks.
Sensex closed 243 points, or 0.40 percent, higher at 61,275.09 while Nifty50 shut shop at 18,015.85, up 86 points, or 0.48 percent.
In terms of index contribution, Reliance Industries remained the top support for Sensex, followed by ICICI Bank and Tech Mahindra.
The rally was broad-based as the BSE Midcap (up 0.69 percent) and Smallcap (up 0.36 percent) indices also ended with gains.
Investors got richer by ₹1.3 lakh crore in a single session as the overall market capitalisation of firms listed on BSE rose to ₹267.3 lakh crore from ₹266 lakh crore in the previous session.
While the market ended in the green, as many as 212 stocks, including Adani Green Energy, Adani Transmission, Adani Total Gas, Bata India and Emami, hit their 52-week lows in intraday trade on BSE.
Top Nifty gainers: Shares of Tech Mahindra, Apollo Hospitals and Eicher Motors ended as the top gainers in the Nifty index.
Top Nifty losers: Shares of Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma and ONGC ended as the top losers in the Nifty pack.
As many as 37 stocks ended in the green in the Nifty50 pack.
Sectoral picture
Barring Nifty FMCG(down 0.39 percent) and Nifty Pharma (down 0.10 percent), all sectoral indices gained on February 15.
Among the gainers, Nifty Realty and IT rose over a percent each. Nifty Auto jumped almost a percent.
Experts' views on markets
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail) at Kotak Securities observed the domestic market was slightly volatile in early trades but recovered in late trades to end with steady gains as investors mostly resorted to selective buying.
"Traders are taking a cautious approach currently due to uncertainty in global markets and the trend could continue for some more time," said Chouhan.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services highlighted that higher inflation, combined with a strong labour market, has raised concerns that the Fed will remain hawkish for an extended period.
"Despite a sluggish start in the domestic market, recovery in the IT and auto sectors contributed to a positive finish. A reversal in the FII pattern to net buying has also helped maintain optimism in the domestic market," said Nair.
Technical views on markets
Chouhan of Kotak Securities said after the breakout of 17,900, the market is comfortably trading above 17,850, which is largely positive.
"The Nifty formed a bullish candle and a higher bottom formation on intraday charts which supports further uptrend from the current levels. For the trend-following traders, 17,900 would act as a key support zone, above which, the index could move up to 18,100-18,150. On the flip side, below 17,900, bulls may prefer to exit out from the trading long position," said Chouhan.
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities pointed out that Nifty gave a falling channel breakout on the daily timeframe, suggesting a bullish reversal of the price trend.
The trend looks positive now for the near term, with the 14 DMA (daily moving average) sitting below the price, said De, adding that the momentum indicator RSI is in support of the price trend, with a current reading above 50.
"Over the near term, the index may move up towards 18,350–18,400. On the lower end, support is placed at 17,950," he said.
Rohan Patil, Technical Analyst, SAMCO Securities observed that the Nifty surpassed the high of the big Budget day candle and closed just above the psychological 18,000 mark.
"Despite the weak start Nifty managed to recover from its losses and witnessed a triangle pattern breakout in the lower time frame (30 mins). Two consecutive bullish candles on the daily chart indicate bulls are back in action and the index also closed above its 9 and 21 EMA (exponential moving average) which is positive for the short term," said Patil.
"Nifty's technical landscape looked bullish and the benchmark now should aim to sustain above the 18,000 mark. The immediate cap for the index is seen at 18,200 and 17,900 will act as instant support for tomorrow's weekly expiry day," Patil said.
Key market data
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of MintGenie.
