After opening with a negative note, the market made an attempt to bounce back in the early part of Thursday’s session. It failed to sustain the gains and showed gradual weakness with range bound action for better part of the session.
ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank remained a drag on the Nifty and Nifty Bank indices.
HUL was the top Nifty loser as the company reported margins of 22–23%, down 4%. The FMCG giant reported volume growth of 2% for the January-March quarter, whereas the CNBC-TV18 poll had projected the growth to be between 0% and 1%. The management reiterated that they will continue to drive volume-led competitive growth.
Sectoral performance was mixed, with Pharma, Metals, and Media showing gains, while Realty, FMCG, and Financial Services faced losses.
The broader market also took a breather, with both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices ending in the red.
Going ahead, market attention will shift to earnings reports from Reliance Industries, Maruti Suzuki India, Hindustan Zinc, Dr. Lal PathLabs, RBL Bank, Shriram Finance, DCB Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Tata Technologies, Force Motors, Atul, Chennai Petroleum Corporation, and Cholamandalam Investment and Fin Co.
Additionally, stocks like Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, L&T Tech, Cyient, will also be in the spotlight tomorrow, as these companies reported their Q4 numbers after market hours on Thursday.
What do the Nifty 50 charts suggest?
The Nifty 50 index remained flat throughout the day, ending on a flattish note. While the short-term sentiment remains strong, signs of fatigue are becoming increasingly evident.
LKP Securities’ Rupak De believes that a small correction may happen if the index sustains below 22,300. On the downside, the Nifty could decline towards 21,900, while resistance is seen at 24,300 and 24,500.
According to Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities, the present consolidation or minor dip could be reversed on the upside soon and the Nifty could head towards the next upside of 24,550 and higher in the near term. Any dips down to 24,100-24,000 could be a buying opportunity.
“Traders holding long positions are advised to protect them with a stop-loss at 24119, with positional support for the Nifty seen near 23,900, and resistances on the upside at 24,360 and 24,545,” said Vinay Rajani of HDFC Securities.
