Sensex fails to recover; PSU Banks buck the trend, small-cap index back in green

Update at 2:40 PM: Even as Sensex tanked more than 400 points, it is the PSU Banks that are soaring on the bourses.  

Central Bank of India and UCO Bank jumped over 9 per cent each while Union Bank & PNB gained more than 8 per cent each during today's afternoon session. Meanwhile, Bank of Baroda (BoB) and Bank of India zoomed more than 7 per cent while Indian Bank surged over 6 per cent and J&K Bank inched higher by more than 5 per cent.  

BSE Small-cap index is back in the green after briefly slipping into the red zone. Venky's is the top small-cap gainer as of now with eye-popping 17 per cent+ gains, followed by Gokaldas Exports, which is up by 14.3 per cent.  

Lead by Tata Motors, Motherson Sumi, and Amara Raja Batteries, the BSE Auto index is back in green!  

SBI is the top Sensex gainer, up by more than 2 per cent while Power Grid maintained its gains of 1.4 per cent, followed by NTPC, which is up by more than 1 per cent. Now, we have almost 10 Sensex stocks in green while 20 are still trading in red with Hindustan Unilever down by more than 3 per cent.   

Update at 12:15 PM: Sensex slipped further into the red territory after opening with a gap-down, pushing the benchmark index lower by more than 500 points on Wednesday.  

Only five out of 30 Sensex stocks are trading in green during today's afternoon session with Hindustan Unilever being the worst performing Sensex stock, recording a loss of 2.45 per cent, followed by M&M and Tech Mahindra, which are down by more than 2 per cent each.  

The mid-cap and small-cap indices have plunged in the afternoon session after trading most of the day in green.  

PSUs continue to impress Dalal Street with MRPL leading the gains by jumping 13 per cent, followed by MMTC and Central Bank of India, which are up by more than 8 per cent each. PSU Banks are also showing a lot of promise in today's session with Bank of Baroda, J&K Bank, Union Bank, and Bank of India gaining more than 4 per cent each.  

Godrej Consumer is up by more than 21 per cent even as Godrej Industries gained 20 per cent on a day when Sensex is plunging. Sensex slipped by more than 500 points on an intraday basis, making a low of 48,637.  

Update at 10:25 AM: Taking cues from the global markets, Sensex fell by more than 300 points on Wednesday. Power stocks are showing good momentum in today's morning session after taking cues from Tuesday's trading session. Power Grid is up by nearly 3 per cent while NTPC is up by more than 2 per cent. However, only eight out of 30 Sensex stocks are in green.  

In today's weak markets, the mid-cap index is marginally in red while the small-cap index is trading in green.  

National Fertilizers Ltd (NFL), Venky's (India) Ltd, and JP Power are outperforming in the small-cap space in the morning session while Godrej Industries, KIOCL & NCL Industries emerged as the top gainers in the mid-cap space.  

BSE Healthcare, BSE PSU and BSE Realty indices are showing strength despite Sensex being down by more than 360 points.  

Sunteck, Phoenix, and Brigade Entreprises are up by more than 2 per cent in the realty space while Oberoi Realty & DLF are up by more than 1 per cent each.  

Pre-Market Update: Just when the things on D-Street were looking rosy and it seemed that the bulls would finally manage to take over the throne, Nifty closed above the 14,900 levels. However, things turned upside down at the time of the opening bell amid weak global cues.   

Nifty opened the session with a gap-down of almost 150 points. Soon after that, a fine upside recovery was seen in the initial part of the trading session from the lower levels. However, in the afternoon session, Nifty cooled off from the day’s high and settled at 14,850 levels, which is down by 0.61 per cent.   

The price action formed a reasonable positive candle as the closing was greater than the opening while the candles carried a minor upper shadow. Technically, this pattern indicates that after a massive gap down, the bulls made a strong comeback in the early part, but the upper shadow indicates that the confidence was lacking on the upside. The index has closed below its prior session lows but managed to hold above the 50 and 20-DMA. However, failing to cross the upper band of the broad range after multiple attempts is indicating that conviction on the uptrend is lacking.   

The RSI on the daily chart once again turned down after facing resistance at 58 levels. We reiterate unless & until Nifty closes convincingly above the 14,980-15,050 mark but till then, don’t fall prey to the bears by initiating a long position at the upper range of the broad range.   

Going ahead, the level of 14,800 is likely to act as an immediate support and a decisive move above the level could take the index towards the zone of 14,600-14,670 where the next support is placed as defined by upward rising trendline and 20-DMA.   

Since Thursday is a holiday for the markets, the weekly expiry is scheduled for Wednesday. So, along with the weekly expiry, the market participants will also be eyeing macroeconomic data namely, IIP & CPI inflation, which are scheduled to be announced on Wednesday.