Nifty falls for fourth straight day, dragged by media, realty, PSU bank, IT, metal, and pharma

Market update at 3.30 PM: It was yet another disappointing day as Nifty plunged about 0.79 per cent while Sensex tanked around 383 points. The sell-off was even more severe in mid-cap and small-cap space as Nifty Midcap fell about 2.39 per cent while Nifty Smallcap slipped about 2.28 per cent.  

Volatility has been reflected in India VIX, which surged over 7 per cent.   

Apart from Nifty FMCG, none of the sectoral indices managed to close positively. Bajaj Finserv and Tech Mahindra were the top two stocks that dragged Nifty. However, despite the bad market, some stocks like Bajaj Auto (3.90 per cent) & HUL (2.91 per cent) supported the market till the end and emerged as the top gainers of Nifty stocks.  

However, not everything is gloom as Nifty formed a Doji candle with a low of 17,500, which can mean that the market might have bottomed down. However, this is too earlier to say as the global cues have not been generous to the Indian market. Weekend news along with corporate results and Fed Meeting next week would dictate the market trend in the last week of January.  

Market update at 1 PM: Nifty has recovered from its low and currently trades near the day’s high. It has slipped about 0.40 per cent while Sensex is down by 350 points. Meanwhile, India VIX is a little above 5 per cent. 

However, selling pressure is witnessed in the Midcap and Smallcap space, with Nifty Midcap falling about a per cent while Nifty Smallcap is down by 0.75 per cent. 

Nifty FMCG and Nifty Auto are trading higher while the rest of the sectors show weakness today. Top two gainers from Nifty stocks are the auto stocks (Bajaj Auto & HeroMoto Corp), while Shree Cements and Bajaj Finserv continue to fall. 

With buying emerging at lower levels, 17500 acts as a strong support zone for Nifty. 

Market update at 10.15 AM: Indices have been trading with volatility in the first hour of the session with Nifty hitting a low of 17,526 and recovering over 100 points. Currently, Nifty is trading lower by about 0.70 per cent while Sensex lost about 450 points. 

Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap are down by about half a per cent each. In the first hour, India VIX has surged over 7 per cent. 

Among the sectoral indices, banks, pharma, realty, and financial services are weak today while FMCG & auto are trading higher.  

With Nifty unable to find a clear trend, traders wait for further clarity in the market.  

Pre-market update: Asian markets have opened lower amid bad global cues with SGX Nifty indicating about a 120-point gap down opening. 

Last night, the US markets were fairly in green; however, severe selling pressure was witnessed in the second of the session, which saw NASDAQ falling about 3 per cent from its intraday high. In the end, NASDAQ closed about 1.3 per cent lower while Dow Jones tanked over 300 points. 

Disappointing results have been posted by the IT companies in the US so far. The shares of Netflix crashed over 10 per cent in after-hours trading on Thursday. 

Crude oil is seen marginally lower after four days of the continuous rally while natural gas fell over 5 per cent. 

In the last trading session, the FIIs sold for Rs 4,679 crore, which is the highest of this month while DIIs bought about Rs 769 crore worth of equity. 

Reliance Industries will be declaring results today while ICICI Bank would be doing the same during the weekend. Post-market hours, companies like HUL, Asian Paints, and Bajaj Finserv declared good results. Thus, these stocks will be in action today. 

With Nifty about to open lower, the first hour is altogether an important one to anticipate the further trends of the day.