Sensex, Nifty fall for 2nd straight session as heavyweight stocks decline
By Koustav Das: Benchmark stock market indices fell for the second straight trading session on Monday, dragged down by a decline in heavyweight stocks.
The S&P BSE Sensex fell almost 300 points to end the session at 66,384.78, while the NSE Nifty 50 settled 72.65 points lower at 19,672.35. Most of the broader market indices also fell, reflecting the weak sentiments.
The Nifty FMCG was the top loser among sectoral indices, falling over 1.7 per cent. Oil & Gas and metal stocks also fell sharply.
The top five gainers on the Nifty 50 were IndusInd Bank, SBI Life, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, M&M and Ultratech Cement. On the other hand, the top losers were ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra, Reliance and Britannia.
The FMCG index was dragged down by ITC, which fell over 4 per cent. ITC shares fell after announcing that its board had given in-principle approval for the hotels business demerger. Heavyweight Reliance Industries Limited also fell 2 per cent after reporting weak Q1 results.
Riches Vanara, Technical And Derivatives Analyst, StoxBox, said, “Today, the Indian markets traded on a weak note continuing its second day of closing in the red as the heavyweights like Reliance’s weak results were seen in the market.”
“Also, the market is seeing some profit booking as the week is full of economic events which will lead to volatility. However, there was some stock-specific positive reaction on account of good results and positive management commentary,” Vanara said.
Deven Mehata, research analyst at Choice, said, “For investors, the market is buys on dips with a strict stop loss of 19500, and if the Nifty closes below the indicated level, we can expect more profit booking.”
“Volume profile indicates Index has a strong support around 19,550-19,475 zone. Coming to the OI Data, on the call side, the highest OI observed at 19,800 followed by 19,900 strike prices while on the put side, the highest OI is at 19,500 strike price. On the other hand, Bank nifty has support at 45,400-45,500 while resistance is placed at 46,250-46,370 levels,” he added.
