My Account
Follow us on:
Powered By
Start generating passive income with up to 10% rental yield and an expected IRR of 18%
Invest Now
Powered By
Unlock Your Trading Potential: Trade like Experts with SEBI registered creators, Learn from Courses & Webinars by India’s Finest Finance Experts.
Invest Now
The benchmark Nifty 50 and Sensex traded lower in afternoon trade on February 12 amid lack of positive triggers and a slump in frontline banking stocks. Selling in a few heavyweight counters like Reliance Industries, ITC, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank too weighed on the benchmarks.
Losses in ICICI Bank, SBI, and HDFC Bank which fell 1-2 percent also weighed heavily on the Nifty Bank index, dragging it over 850 points or 2 percent lower to 44710.30.
State-run banks struggled with losses as investors chose to book profit from its recent run-up amid growing bullishness over public sector undertakings. The Nifty PSU Bank index was the worst hit among sectoral indices as it slumped 3 percent by mid-day on February 12.
Information technology stocks, however, bucked the overall weak market trend and logged in some gains. The Nifty IT index became the top sectoral gainer backed by positive cues from its Wall Street peers expectations of easing macro conditions as the US Federal Reserve moved closer to rate cuts and taming inflation. The sectoral index surged over 1 percent backed by 1-4 percent gains in Infosys, Wipro and HCLTech.
At 1 pm, the Sensex was down 575.33 points or 0.80 percent at 71,020.16, and the Nifty was down 178.60 points or 0.82 percent at 21,603.90. Losers heavily outnumbered gainers as about 822 shares gained, 2,544 lost, while 62 traded unchanged.
Selling pressure was more intense in the broader market with the BSE Smallcap as well as BSE Midcap indices shedding around 2 percent each.
Fundamental view
“The fact that the markets are resilient even after the initial enthusiasm of early rate cuts in 2024, both in the US and in India, has moderated is an indication of the underlying strength in the market. Apart from positive economic cues, a major factor supporting the market is the sustained inflows from mutual funds,” VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
Vijayakumar expects this to trigger buying on dips and hence the high market valuations are likely to be sustained for some time. “However, the frothy valuations of the broader market are a matter for concern. From the long-term perspective, safety is in large-caps,” he added.
Technical view
“The Nifty can find support at 21,700, followed by 21,650 and 21,600. On the higher side, 21,950 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 22,000 and 22,050,” said Deven Mehata, research analyst at Choice Broking.
“The charts of Bank Nifty indicate that it may get support at 45,500, followed by 45,300 and 45,000. If the index advances, 45,850 would be the initial key resistance, followed by 46,000 and 46,150,” Mehata added.
Key Nifty gainers
Wipro, HCLTech and Apollo Hospitals
Key Nifty losers
HEro MotoCorp, Coal India, BPCL, NTPC, and ONGC
Key Sensex gainers
Wipro, HCLTech, and Infosys
Key Sensex losers
NTPC, Tata Steel, and SBI
Stock moves
Bandhan Bank: Shares nosedived over 7 percent as around Rs 23,300 crore worth of loans lent by the lender under credit guarantee schemes is being reviewed by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) due to doubts of evergreening.
Hero MotoCorp: Shares slumped over 5 percent following bearish calls with subdued target prices by multiple brokerages, who say the stock is overvalued. Brokerage pessimism for the stock comes in despite the two-wheeler major posting better-than-expected earnings in the December quarter.
Honasa Consumer: Stock soared 10 percent after the company posted an over a three-fold jump in its Q3 net profit. The company’s net profit zoomed three-fold from the previous year to Rs 26 crore in the December quarter while consolidated revenue was up 28 percent at Rs 488 crore.
Disclosure: Moneycontrol is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.
Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Discover the latest business news, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
Copyright © e-Eighteen.com Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction of news articles, photos, videos or any other content in whole or in part in any form or medium without express writtern permission of moneycontrol.com is prohibited.
You are already a Moneycontrol Pro user.
Access your Detailed Credit Report – absolutely free
Mid-day Mood | Bank Nifty in a free fall, slips 850 pts to below 44,800; Nifty, Sensex fall 0.8% – Moneycontrol
Leave a comment