Another down day for market amid high volatility, all indices end in the red

Nifty, Sensex started the day lower and continued to fall through the day. Nifty finally settled at 18,269.00, down 145.90 points, or 0.79%, and the BSE Sensex fell 461.22 points, or 0.75%, to close at 61,337.81.

All sectoral indices ended the day lower with Nifty PSU Bank falling at most at 2.92%. IT, Auto, Pharma, Metal and Realty shed more than a percent each. Meanwhile, BSE midcap and smallcap indices fell more than a percent each.

India Vix, the index that depicts the volatility in the market, jumped about 2% to 14.07, according to NSE website.

Dr Reddy’s, M&M, Asian Paints, BPCL and Adani Ports were the biggest Nifty losers, on the other other hand Tata Motors, HDFC Bank and HUL helped the index cap some losses.

“Large day-end trades resulted in volumes touching a multi week high. Broad market indices fell more even as the advance decline ratio remained low at 0.49:1. IT sector continued to face selling pressure as Nasdaq keeps getting sold off. Realty stocks came under selling pressure as rising rates could dampen demand for properties. Global markets were largely down as investors were worried that the resolve of central banks to continue their fight against inflation could tip the economy into a recession,” said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

“Nifty lost 1.23% over the week and looks set to continue its down move. 18,088-18,133 band is the next support, while 18,442 could be tough to breach in the near term,” he added.

The market breadth was also very weak with 2,120 stocks declining and 1,414 advancing on BSE out of a total of 3,662 traded.

Asian markets felt the heat of central bankers’ hawkish tones as most Asian indices closed in the red. Interest rate hikes by major central banks around the world fuelled fears of a likely economic slowdown.

Indian rupee also closed lower at 82.86 per dollar against previous close of 82.76.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said, “The aggressiveness of central banks in combating inflation has raised concerns about the global economy’s health. Despite attempts to recoup losses, a lack of global support pushed the indices back into negative territory.”