Indian equity indices ended on a lower note paring early gains. The NSE Nifty 50 fell 63 points or 0.26%, to settle the day’s trading at 23,993, breaching the key 24,000 level. The BSE Sensex settled the session lower by 166 points or 0.21% at 78,593. HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, SBI, ICICI Bank, and M&M saw significant selling pressure.

Sectoral Index

The Bank Nifty slipped 344 points or 0.69% to end the session at 49,748m ending below the psychological level of 50,000. Similarly, the Nifty Midcap 100 dropped more than 342 points or 0.61% settling the day’s trading at 55,516. In the broader markets, smallcap and midcap stocks closed in the red.

“The domestic market tried to rebound mirroring the Asian markets. However, momentum was short-lived and closed below the threshold level of 24,000. Investors are watching the appreciating Yen, weak US economic data, and rising geopolitical tensions. They are now exercising caution and shifting towards defensive sectors such as FMCG, IT, and pharma. Nonetheless, the market is looking forward to the decline of crude prices and potential rate cuts by the US Fed & RBI to mitigate the downturn risk,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

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Bank Nifty

“The bank Nifty continued to decline and also breached the previous session low indicating continuation of the weakness. We expect the Bank Nifty to drift lower towards 47650 – 47500 where the 200-day moving average is placed. The 20-week moving average is placed at 49800, which can provide some relief however rallies towards 50400 – 50500 should be used as a selling opportunity,” said Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

“The sharp decline is largely in response to the recovery in equities seen early in the day following the global rout yesterday. But the drop in VIX is not seen sustaining and the pull back above 18 reflects that the Indian market remains sensitive and vulnerable as global events unravel with Nifty just having turned from a 10 period-long stretch of month-on-month peaks,” said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.