Nifty at a new high, aided by Reliance & HDFC twins; Gland Pharma hits fresh 52-week high

Market Update at 11:03 AM: It’s turning out to be a terrific Tuesday for the Indian markets as Nifty logged a fresh all-time high. Nifty was seen trading up by about 0.58 per cent above the 16,350 mark. 

The heavyweights like Reliance Industries, HDFC twins and Infosys are helping the cause as they combinedly have added nearly 58 points to Nifty’s kitty. Meanwhile, a divergent trend has been witnessed in the broader market with Nifty Midcap 100 being up by 0.32 per cent. On the other hand, Nifty Smallcap 100 plunged 0.38 per cent.   

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty IT, Nifty Financial Services, and Nifty Bank were up in a range of 0.62 per cent to 0.85 per cent with Nifty IT leading from the front. On the flip side, Nifty Realty is down by 1.11 per cent.   

Stock-specific action continues on D-Street as Gland Pharma made a fresh 52-week high, trading up by 3 per cent. Galaxy Surfactants and BASF have also registered fresh 52-week highs. 

Nifty opened Monday’s session higher at 16,281 and touched an intraday high of 16,320. However, as the day progressed, volatility gripped markets and as a result, it went onto touch the levels of 16,179. Later on, Nifty rebounded from the lower levels to end the day with modest gains of 20 points at 16,258.   

The broader markets unperformed Nifty as Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 lost 0.73 per cent and 0.91 per cent, respectively.   

On the daily chart, Nifty formed a small body bear candle, carrying upper and a long lower shadow. Technically, this pattern indicates a continuation of consolidation with buying demand emerging around the lows of August 04.   

After a rapid rise of nearly 500 points between August 2 and 5, the index is seen taking a breather. However, what is concerning is the market breadth, which is turning weak, and the broader markets that were performing really well until the last week of July do not seem to be participating now.   

Having said that, going ahead, the gap area of (16,146.90-16,176.15) is likely to act as strong support for the index in the near term. While on the upside, the level of 16,350-16,400 could act as a hurdle.   

Overall, we expect the index to trade within the range of about 260 points, 16,140 on the downside while 16,400 on the upside. On the earnings front, the recently listed Zomato will announce its quarterly earnings today.