Equity markets managed to halt their eight-day decline on Monday, with the benchmark Sensex closing marginally higher at 75,996.86, up 57.65 points or 0.08 per cent, while the Nifty 50 gained 30.25 points or 0.13 per cent to end at 22,959.50, despite persistent selling pressure in broader markets.
The recovery was led by Adani Enterprises, which surged 3.93 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv (+2.65 per cent), IndusInd Bank (+2.53 per cent), Power Grid (+2.23 per cent), and Adani Ports (+2.11 per cent). However, M&M emerged as the top loser, dropping 3.45 per cent, while Bharti Airtel declined 2.36 per cent, followed by IT majors Infosys (-0.72 per cent) and TCS (-0.68 per cent).
Market breadth remained weak for the eighth consecutive session, with 2,733 stocks declining, compared to 1,354 advances on the BSE. Notably, 907 stocks hit their 52-week lows, while only 69 stocks touched their 52-week highs, indicating broader market weakness.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, attributed the market’s cautious stance to multiple factors: “Modest earnings growth in Q3 FY25, coupled with sustained selling by FIIs, is limiting the potential for a near-term market rebound. A weakening rupee and a widening trade deficit are likely to heighten investor caution.”
The Nifty Bank index gained 0.32 per cent to close at 49,258.90, while the Nifty Financial Services index added 0.36 per cent. The healthcare and pharma indices emerged as sectoral outperformers, gaining over 1 per cent each, while the defence index was the biggest laggard, declining nearly 3 per cent.
Technical analysts remain cautiously optimistic about the market’s near-term prospects. Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, noted: “As long as the market trades above 22800/75500, the pullback formation is likely to continue. On the higher side, it could move up till 23000/76200.”
Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd, highlighted that positive Asian and European indices aided sentiment, while gains in select banking, oil & gas, metals, and power stocks helped local benchmarks recover from their early lows.
The market showed significant volatility throughout the session, with the Nifty opening 62 points lower, but recovering strongly from the day’s low of 22,725.45. The India VIX, a measure of market volatility, surged 4.71 per cent to 15.72, indicating heightened uncertainty.
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, cautioned: “The index continues to trade below critical moving averages, reinforcing the overall bearish undertone. In the short term, the index is likely to remain a sell-on-rise candidate unless it decisively crosses above 23,150.”
With US markets closed for Presidents’ Day, traders are now awaiting the Federal Reserve minutes for further cues on market direction. The immediate support for Nifty is seen at 22,800, while 23,000 and 23,200 remain key resistance levels.
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