Taking Stock | Market in bear grip as profit-booking in 2nd straight session pulls Nifty below 14,300

Today's Market

The market ended in the negative territory for the second session in a row on January 18 amid weak global cues. At close, the Sensex was down 470.40 points or 0.96% at 48,564.27, and the Nifty was down 152.40 points or 1.06% at 14,281.30.

“We have broken the crucial support of 14,350 and should ideally be headed further south to levels closer to 14,150 and then 14,000. Markets have become volatile and strict stops must be placed on all trades. 14,500 has become a resistance zone and any rally up can be utilised to short the Nifty for lower targets,” said Manish Hathiramani, Proprietary Index Trader and Technical Analyst, Deen Dayal Investments.

All the sectoral indices ended in the red with the metal index slipping 4 percent, while auto, PSU bank and pharma indices shed 2 percent each.

Broader markets underperformed the main indices with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices falling 2 percent each.

UPL, Reliance Industries, Titan Company, HDFC Bank and ITC were among the top gainers on the Nifty, while losers were Tata Steel, Tata Motors, ONGC, Hindalco and Sun Pharma.

Also Read – Gainers & Losers: 10 stocks that moved the most on January 18

Stocks & sectors

The BSE Metal index plunged 4 percent, while Power, Healthcare and Power slipped 2 percent each.

A volume spike of more than 100 percent was seen in Petronet LNG and HDFC Bank.

Long buildup was seen in UPL, ITC and PVR, while short buildup was seen in L&T Finance Holdings, Apollo Tyres and Petronet LNG.

More than 200 stocks including HDFC Bank, Indosolar and Orchid Pharma hit a fresh 52-week high on the BSE.

Technical View

Nifty formed a Bearish candle on the daily scale and has started to form lower tops and lower bottoms since the last two sessions.

“Now, till it remains below 14350 zones, weakness could be seen towards 14,200 and 14,000 zones. Meanwhile, while resistance is seen at 14450 and 14500 levels,” said Chandan Taparia of Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by 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.