Sensex, Nifty snap two-day gains amid spike in coronavirus death toll; key things from today’s trade

IndusInd Bank was the top Sensex loser, down 3.54 per cent, followed by NTPC, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ONGC

Domestic equity market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty snapped their two-day rally and closed lower on Thursday amid inflation worries and coronavirus fears. “Indian markets opened lower following negative Asian market cues as investors weighed in new data from China’s Hubei province reported a spike. The selling further intensified in the markets during the day as sentiment on the street weakened due to concerns around growth after data showed a surprise drop in industrial output for December and a rise in January inflation to a six-year high. Annual retail inflation rose to 7.59% in January, while December industrial output contracted 0.3%, after rising for the first time in three months in November,” Narendra Solanki, Head of Fundamental Research- Investment Services, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers said.

Sensex, Nifty snap two days of gain- S&P BSE Sensex ended 106 points or 0.26 per cent lower at 41,460 points, while the broader Nifty 50 index settled at 12,174 points, down 27 points or 0.22 per cent. In the broader market, S&P BSE MidCap index ended 23 points or 0.15 per cent lower at 15,765.72, while S&P BSE SmallCap index finished flat at 14,732 points.

Private bank stocks drag indices- IndusInd Bank was the top Sensex loser, down 3.54 per cent, followed by NTPC, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ONGC. However, Titan was the top gainer on the index, up 2.42 per cent at Rs 1,299. SBI, Sun Pharma, M&M, TCS and Infosys were among the top gainers.

Sectoral indices trade mixed– The Nifty Bank index dropped 263 points to close at 31,230, dragged by losses in IndusInd Bank, RBL Bank, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank. Nifty Financial Services index, too, settled lower with weakness in Indiabulls Housing Finance, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC.

Technical view- “After showing a decent upside bounce in the last session, the Nifty slipped into a minor weakness today and closed the day lower by 26 points. A small body of negative candle was formed today with minor lower shadow. Technically, this pattern indicates a minor weakness in the market with range bound action. The overall market breadth and the broader market trend signals weak bias. Currently, the Nifty stuck at the hurdle of 12250 levels, a sustainable move above this area is expected to open more upside for the Nifty. On the other side, a decisive move below 12100-12050 levels trigger a near term downward correction in the Nifty,” Nagaraj Shetti – Technical Analyst, HDFC securities said.

Coronavirus death toll spikes- Hubei province in central China on Thursday reported a spike in new cases. Provincial health officials said 242 people had died from the flu-like virus on Wednesday, the fastest daily rise in fatalities so far, with another 14,840 new infections after a change in diagnostic methods, as per the Reuters news report.