Nifty closed above 16,600; pharma emerges as the star performer

Cipla, Sun Pharma, BPCL, and JSW Steel emerged as the top gainers of the day

Market update at 3.30 PM: Nifty remained range-bound for the day and traded in a narrow range of about 200 points. In the end, it closed at 16,630, up by 0.21 per cent. Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap closed higher by 0.61 per cent & 0.91 per cent, respectively.    

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Pharma was the star performer for the day as it rose nearly 2.5 per cent. Moreover, Nifty PSU Bank gained nearly a per cent. However, Nifty Auto and Nifty IT closed lower. Cipla, Sun Pharma, BPCL, and JSW Steel emerged as the top gainers of the day while Nestle, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Consumer Products & Hindalco remained the top losers. With a quiet day, India VIX fell about 0.9 per cent. 

Nifty formed a strong bullish candle on the weekly chart and closed higher on WoW basis after four weeks. Moreover, on the monthly timeframe, Nifty is seen forming a hammer candle, which is an early sign of reversal. Thus, the index is expected to show some upmove in the coming days.   

Market update at 12 PM: Nifty is marginally higher by about 0.15 per cent and is above the important level of 16,600. Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap indices are higher by 0.1 per cent & 0.9 per cent, respectively.   

Among the sectors, pharma and media have performed better along with PSU banks & metal. Nifty Pharma has gained about 1.5 per cent. However, auto and FMCG are weak. Cipla, Sun Pharma, JSW Steel, and Coal India are currently the top gainers among Nifty stocks while Tata Motors, Tata Consumer Products & Nestle are weak today.  

Nifty is trading in a tight range and is within Thursday’s high and low. Thus, we can expect Nifty to continue trading in this range. 

Market update at 9.45 AM: Indices opened slightly lower but showed a positive movement after opening. Nifty is up by 0.4 per cent while Sensex has gained about 250 points. Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap are trading higher by 0.31 per cent & 1.1 per cent, respectively.

Among the sectors, the metal index has surged about 1.2 per cent while Nifty Media is also up by a per cent. However, the auto, FMCG, and IT sectors are trading marginally lower. Meanwhile, India VIX is trading flat. 

Pre-market update: Last night, the US markets closed on a negative note with NASDAQ slipping nearly a per cent while Dow Jones lost more than 100 points. However, the US VIX has cooled off by nearly 7 per cent.

The Asian markets have opened lower while SGX Nifty indicates a muted opening of about 50 points.

In the last trading session, the FIIs sold for about Rs 1,981 crore while the DIIs have bought about Rs 945 crore worth of equity.

The geopolitical tension seems to be subsiding and the global markets have more or less factored in the issue. The attention will now turn towards the Federal Reserve meeting scheduled on March 15-16.

Crude oil remains range-bound amid volatility. It currently trades at USD 109 per barrel.

Nifty is likely to trade near 16,500 today while India VIX is expected to cool off slightly.