Market WRAP: Nifty closes at 18,100 level; Sensex slips 250 points, all sectors end in red

UltraTech Cement, SBI Life Insurance, and Infosys emerged as the top gainer from the Nifty 50 stocks

Market update at 3.30 PM: Indices experienced a roller coaster ride as indices recovered points from their day’s low, only to witness selling pressure at higher levels. In the end, NSE Nifty 50 index closed at the 18,100 level and near its day’s low while S&P BSE Sensex slipped 250 points. Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap plunged 0.87 per cent and 1.61 per cent, respectively.  

While IT closed flat, all other sectors ended negative, with realty, PSU Banks and metals witnessing strong sell-off towards the end.  

UltraTech Cement, SBI Life Insurance, and Infosys emerged as the top gainer from the Nifty 50 stocks while UPL, M&M, and Bajaj Finserv were the top loser.  

Nifty formed two consecutive bearish candles on the technical chart and thus indicates short-term weakness. It closed below 50-DMA and sentiments look bearish for now.  

Market update at 2.30 PM: Indices have seen good recovery at lower levels and are off their day’s low. NSE Nifty 50 trades above 18,100 levels and has recovered about 80 points. Sensex has slipped 150 points so far while midcap and smallcap indices have also seen some recovery.  

Banks and IT have seen good short-covering rallies, while India VIX has plunged over 1 per cent. 

Market update at 11 AM: indices have witnessed severe selling pressure at higher levels and have plunged to their day’s low. NSE Nifty 50 index has slipped half a per cent to trade at 18,100 levels while Sensex has tanked nearly 300 points. Nifty Midcaps and Nifty Smallcap have the top underperformers as they have plummeted about 1.41 per cent and 2.42 per cent respectively.  

All the sectoral indices are trading in red, with metals, realty and media being the top draggers. India VIX has surged over 4 per cent amidst such volatility.  

About 180 stocks are advancing as against 1,800 stocks that are declining. This indicates strong weakness in the broader market.  

18,100 holds a very important support for Nifty and any fall below this level can indicate further weakness. Meanwhile, 18,20 shall act as immediate resistance. 

Market update at 9.30 AM: Indices have witnessed selling pressure at higher levels despite positive opening. Nifty and Sensex have erased early gains and currently trade flat amid volatility. Midcap and smallcap indices also trade weak.  

Pharma and IT are the top performers while PSU banks, Realty and Media are weak today. India VIX has surged over 1 per cent in the morning session.

Pre-market update: Wall Street indices rose higher on Wednesday after upbeat FedEx earnings, while investors also remained bullish on consumer confidence despite recession fears. Nasdaq jumped 1.54 per cent while Dow Jones gained 526 points to close at the day's high. The Asian markets have thus opened positively, and trends on SGX Nifty indicate a gap-up opening of about 110 points for Nifty.

Crude oil prices rose nearly 3 per cent amid a positive global demand outlook for 2023. Brent crude trades above USD 82 per barrel.

Sula Vineyards IPO is set to debut on bourses today. It is expected to be listed with a 2-3 per cent discount as overall institutional subscription fell short of forecasts.

In the last trading session, the FIIs sold to the tune of Rs 1119 crore while the DIIs bought shares worth Rs 1757 crore.

Today being the weekly expiry, the volatility is expected to persist throughout the day and price action at key levels shall be keenly watched.