It turned out to be a quiet week of trade for Indian equity benchmarks ase markets ended almost flat with a negative bias. While BSE Sensex slipped 159 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 60682.7, the Nifty moved 2.5 points up, closing almost flat, to 17856.5 at the of the week ended February 10. Markets traders remain concerned with foreign investors pulling out Rs 28,852 crore from Indian equities in January, making it the worst outflow in the last seven months, primarily due to the attractiveness of the Chinese markets.
Market veteran Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity research (retail), at Kotak Securities Ltd, said: “During this week, the benchmark BSE-30 and Nifty-50 were almost flat. However, the BSE Midcap and BSE Small-cap index saw positive gains during the week. Sector-wise, BSE Metal and BSE Power index witnessed sharp correction, whereas BSE Healthcare, BSE IT, BSE capital goods, and BSE Realty reported gains this week. FPI flows in India remained negative. Q3FY23 earnings of Nifty-50 stocks reported so far have been broadly on expected lines. RBI monetary policy committee raised the repo rate by 25 bps and remained concerned about core inflation. International oil prices rose this week with Brent Crude now trading close to $86-87 per barrel. As the Q3FY23 result season comes towards an end, the investor focus will now shift towards domestic and global macro factors.”
Market watcher Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said: “Domestic indices ended the week along the flat line with a negative undertone as the market sentiments were hammered by the prospects of a policy tightening by the Fed as a strong job market in the US offers more leeway in enacting stricter policy measures. FIIs continued to lower investor confidence while significant support from DIIs provided the domestic market with a cushion of comfort. The RBI’s MPC meeting during the week delivered a smaller rate hike in line with market expectations, which was positively welcomed by investors.”
“They have taken a more optimistic view on domestic growth by increasing the GDP forecast while cautiously keeping CPI inflation at 5.3% for FY24. During such shaky times, investors need to adopt value buying as a strategy. Due to a decrease in valuation near long-term averages, small-cap companies are looking appealing over the long term. Going ahead, markets await the release of key inflation numbers for a clear direction and to gauge the strength of the economy.” he added.
As many as 24 stocks in the Nifty 50 index delivered a positive return for investors in the week ending February 10, 2023. With a gain of 17 per cent, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone emerged as the top gainer in the index. It was followed by Bajaj Finance (up 7.1 per cent), HDFC Life Insurance (up 6.8 per cent), IndusInd Bank (up 5.2 per cent), and Bajaj Finserv (up 4.8 per cent). Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, SBI Life Insurance, and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories also advanced over 3 per cent. On the other hand, Tata Steel, Hindalco Industries, and Coal India declined 9.4 per cent, 5.8 per cent and 3.3 per cent, respectively. Sector-wise, the BSE Realty index gained the most (2.5 per cent) during the week gone by. Followed by the BSE Capital Goods index (up 1.6 per cent)and BSE Healthcare index has given a 1.4 per cent return. While on the downside BSE Metal, BSE Power, and BSE Fast Moving Consumer Goods indices have registered a weekly decline of 4.3 per cent, 3.4 per cent, and 1 per cent, respectively.
Kunal Shah, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said: “The BANK NIFTY index on the daily chart continued to consolidate between the 41,200-41,800 zone. The undertone remains bullish as long as the index holds the support of 41,200 and one should keep a buy-on-dip approach. The index if it breaks 41,800 on the upside will witness a sharp short covering on the upside towards the 43,000 level.”