Blood bath on D-street: Nifty ends at 17,800 level; Sensex tanks nearly 1000 points, PSU Banks tumble

Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap lost ground as they plummeted about 3.76 per cent and 4.72 per cent respectively.   

Market update at 3.30 PM: It was a disappointing end to the week as Nifty slipped 1.77 per cent to end at 17,800 levels. It has broken the key support level of 18,000 and the sentiment has turned strongly bearish. Since last Christmas, the benchmark indices managed to gain about 4.73 per cent in the year despite the global weakness amid soaring inflation and ongoing war.   

Meanwhile, S&P BSE Sensex tanked nearly 1,000 points to close below 60,000-mark. Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap lost ground as they plummeted about 3.76 per cent and 4.72 per cent respectively.   

Nifty PSU Banks witnessed one of the strongest profit booking days as it plunged over 6 per cent. Media and metal stocks also witnessed heavy sell-off towards the end. Nifty Pharma, which was trading in green, also turned negative as all the sectors closed on a lower note.   

Amongst Nifty 50 stocks, Divis Laboratories closed on a flat note while all other stocks closed negatively. Adani Ports, Adani Enterprises, Hindalco Industries witnessed one of the worst sell-off as they plunged over 5 per cent each.   

Nifty formed a strong bearish candle and closed below 100-DMA. India VIX has surged over 6 per cent and has closed above 16-mark. The sentiment has turned largely bearish and all the attention will shift towards the US markets to anticipate further clues regarding the direction of the market. 

Market update at 2.10 PM: Nifty Smallcap index has witnessed severe sell-off and has plunged over 4 per cent as investors fled risky assets. NSE Nifty 50 index has slipped below 17,900 level while Sensex has tanked nearly 900 points.   

All the sectoral indices are in deep red, while India VIX has crossed 16 mark and is up over 5 per cent. 

Market update at 11.10 AM: Indices have experienced a sell-off on Friday as investors fled risky assets amid fear of rising COVID cases across the world. NSE Nifty 50 index has plunged 1 per cent to trade below 18,000 levels while Sensex has slipped nearly 600 points. Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap have plummeted 2.30 per cent and 2.80 per cent respectively.   

PSU Bank index has slipped nearly 4 per cent amid strong profit booking across key PSU Banking stocks. Media and metal stocks also witness severe selling pressure. On the other hand, pharma stocks are currently trending and is the hot topic on D-street.   

Divis Laboratories, Cipla and Sun pharma are the top gainers from the Nifty 50 stocks while Adani Ports, Hindalco and Tata Steel are weak today,   

About 186 stocks are advancing as against 1,820 stocks that are declining. The market breadth is negative and as a result, India VIX has surged over 5 per cent.

Market update at 9.30 AM: Indices have witnessed selling pressure at the start of the session. The benchmark indices NSE Nifty 50 index trades at 18,000 levels while Sensex has tanked over 500 points early on. Midcap and smallcap indices also face the heat.  

Except Nifty Pharma, all ither sectoral indices are trading in red. India VIX has surged nearly 6 per cent. 

Pre-market update: Wall Street's top indices closed on a weaker note after investors remain sceptical about the direction of the economy while aggressive rate hikes by the Fed also remain a worry. The tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 2.18 per cent while Dow Jones tanked 350 points. The Asian markets have seen a bearish sentiment and have opened lower on Friday. Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a loss of 80 points.

In a high level COVID review meet, PM Modi indicates that the fight against COVID-19 is far from over and has also assessed the healthcare preparedness across the country.

Oil inched higher amid positive demand outlook for 2023. Brent crude oil currently trades at USD 82 per barrel.

In the last trading session, both the FIIs and DIIs turned net buyers and bought shares worth Rs 928 crore and Rs 2206 crore respectively.

Nifty is expected to remain under pressure amid rising volatility and price action at key support levels shall be observed.