Financial stocks drive Sensex over 1% higher on Monday; check new resistance, support levels for Nifty

Rising for the second straight session on Monday, BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 settled up to one per cent higher, mainly due to buying in financial and FMCG stocks. Positive global cues too supported the Indian share market today. BSE Sensex jumped 449 points or 1.12 per cent to end at 40,432, while the broader Nifty 50 index soared 111 points or 0.94 per cent to settle at 11,873. The top volume toppers were HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Infosys and HCL Tech, while top index contributors were ICICI Bank, Housing Development Finance Corporation, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank. Analysts see 11900 as important resistance zone in the near term for Nifty 50 index.

ICICI Bank surges over 5%: Bank and finamcial stocks were major drivers for BSE Sense today. ICICI Bank was the top-performing stock, gaining 5.3 per cent today. Similarly, Axis Bank, Nestle India, State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC, IndusInd Bank and ONGC, were all up in the range of 3-4.4 per cent. Reliance Industries ended flat today.

Bajaj-Auto worst-performer: Bajaj Auto was the top Sensex loser, down nearly 2 per cent. It giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was also a Sensex laggard today. M&M, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki, Sun Pharma and Infosys were the other losers on the pack.

Nifty PSU Bank index soars over 4%: The trend among sectoral indices was largely positive. Nifty PSU Bank index was top sectoral gainer, up 4.17 per cent led by Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Maharashtra Bank. While Nifty Pharma index fell 1.67 per cent.

What do charts suggest: Today, Nifty opened on a strong note and remained lacklustre within narrow trading range throughout the session. “The daily price action has formed a “Doji” candlestick pattern forming higher High-low as compared to the previous session which remains a positive sign,” Rajesh Palviya, Head Technical & Derivatives, Axis Securities, told Financial Express Online. The index has formed a bullish gap area in the range of 11820-11789 which will now remain a crucial support zone. For near-term, 11900 is important resistance zone to watch for and any sustainable move above this resistance zone may cause upside momentum towards 12000-12100 levels. “On the downside, 11800 will act as a short-term support zone,” Palviya added.

MidCaps, smallcaps: The broader market underperformed the equity benchmarks. The S&P BSE MidCap index ended at 14,706, up 0.58 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended at 14,851, up 0.43 per cent.

Equitas SFB IPO opens tomorrow: The Rs 518-crore Equitas Small Finance Bank initial public offer (IPO) will open for subscription on Tuesday, October 20, 2020. The company has fixed a price band of Rs 32-33 per share and the issue will close for subscription on October 22.

Expert’s take: “Participants are still pinning hopes on the passage of the stimulus package in the US before the election and it will remain on their radar. However, on the flip side, any adverse news on COVID-19 might again push the bulls on the back foot. We suggest maintaining a positive yet cautious approach and preferring hedged positions,” said Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking Ltd.