Markets will likely see a volatile session on Wednesday as the monthly F&O expiry for January derivatives contracts will keep investors occupied.
Sensex Today: Benchmark indices started on a tepid note on Wednesday. BSE Sensex was trading 643 points or 1.05% lower at 60,339 while Nifty50 was trading at 17,917, down 200 points or 1.1%.
Hindalco, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki, HUL, M&M, ICICI Bank, and BPCL were the top 50-pack gainers, while Adani Ports, Ultratech Cement, Adani Enterprises, SBI, Apollo Hospitals, Dr Reddy’s Labs, and Divis Labs remained top laggards.
In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices dropped 0.7 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively.
Sectorally, only the Nifty Auto and Metal indices were in the green, up 0.09 per cent and 0.14 per cent, respectively. On the downside, the Nifty PSU bank index fell 1.15 per cent, followd by the Nifty Bank and Pharma indices (down 0.75 per cent each).
Adani Ports and Adani Enterprises were among the top losers in Nifty pack. The slide comes after short-seller Hindenburg Research said it holds short positions in the Adani Group companies through U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments, and flagged risks to the financials of key companies.
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All 10 Adani Group stocks were in the red this morning with Adani Ports dropping the most at 5% to hit day’s low at Rs 723. Other top losers in the pack included Adani Power, Adani Wilmar and Ambuja Cement – all of them lost 4% each.
Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said: “The 18200 Nifty has become a major resistance level which is keeping the Nifty iAn the narrow band of 17800-18200. Now, it appears that a major trigger is necessary to break this range either on the upside or the downside. Two major events of February 1st – the Union Budget and the Fed decision on interest rate – have the potential to break this narrow range. A good budget and positive commentary from the Fed can break the upper band. On the contrary, any negative budget proposal like raising the rate of Long Term Capital Gains Tax or a worse-than- expected hawkish Fed can break the lower end of the range. Let’s wait for the actual outcome.”
Global Cues
Asian equities extended their winning run to scale their highest levels in seven months on Wednesday, with South Korean stocks leading the way, and the Australian dollar hit multi-month highs as surging inflation made higher interest rates more likely.
The S&P 500 ended nominally lower on Tuesday at the close of a rocky session marked by a raft of mixed earnings and a technical malfunction at the opening bell.
Crude oil prices rebounded on Wednesday as demand recovery hopes in top importer China following its exit from COVID-19 pandemic curbs provided support after prices dropped in the previous session on concerns about global economic growth.Brent crude futures gained 59 cents, or 0.7%, to $86.72 per barrel by 0214 GMT after falling 2.3% in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 46 cents, or 0.6%, to $80.59 per barrel, having dropped 1.8% on Tuesday.
