Sensex ends 740 pts down at 48,440; Indices drop 5% in March F&O series

This was the indices' biggest 1-year drop in a monthly series

4:49 PM

TECH VIEW :: Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities

The short term trend of Nifty continues to be weak and a decisive move below 14300 levels could drag towards the next lows of 14000 levels in the near term. This support is a mid part of long bull candle of 1st Feb (budget day move) and also 20 period weekly EMA. Any upside bounce from here is expected to find resistance at 14500 levels.

4:44 PM

TECH VIEW :: Ashis Biswas, Head of Technical Research at CapitalVia Global Research

Market witnessed some swift recovery from its short-term support around the Nifty50 Index level of 14300. The 14300 levels to act as a major support level and the next few days the market stays in the range between 14300 and 14700. It’s going to be crucial for the short-term market scenario to sustain above the 14300 to keep the long-term uptrend intact, a volatility to expand in today’s trading session has been observed. The momentum indicators like RSI, MACD to start showing positive divergence between the 19th-March-2021 and 25th-March-2021 swing low, indicating a short-term base at the level between 14250-14350 level is in the process.

 

4:35 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities

Indian benchmark equity indices suffered sharp swings on either side on March 25 as the March series F&O expiry had a volatile close. A second sharp selloff post 1445 Hrs meant that the Indices closed almost at the intra day lows. At close the Nifty 50 too fell 1.5% or 224.5 points to end at 14,324.90.

 

Nifty has seen acceleration in its downtrend after it breached the crucial level of 14788. In the process it has filled the upgap made on Feb 02. A sharp rise in COVID-19 cases globally and reports of lockdown seems to have eroded investors' risk appetite. Hardening bond yields, and rising inflation are also not helping matters. Although the indicators/oscillators are oversold, we are not sure as to whether a bounce will come from these levels or after falling to 13966

4:25 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking

Markets traded under pressure on the F&O expiry day and lost over one and a half percent. The sentiment was downbeat from the beginning, citing subdued global cues and the continuous uptick in COVID cases in India. Though the benchmark tried to recoup losses in the latter half, selling pressure at the higher levels pushed the bulls on the backfoot. Consequently, the Nifty index ended with sharp losses for the second consecutive session lower by 1.5% at 13,325 levels. The broader markets continued to witness selling pressure as both Midcap and Smallcap ended lower by 2% each. On the sector front, all the indices ended in red wherein auto, realty and consumer durables were the top losers.

 

The selling pressure has intensified in the last couple of sessions owing to weak global cues and concerns over the second wave of COVID cases. On the benchmark front, Nifty has next critical support at 14,000 levels however rebound in the banking index might result in some bounce or consolidation first. Amid all, we reiterate our cautious stance and suggest traders to focus more on risk management.

4:13 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

Increased rate of infection across the country & world is creating more pessimism in the market, which has increased today due to monthly expiry. After the stellar rally, the market was on a consolidation stage during the last one month, which amplified post the sudden rise in infection impacting future economic growth. The economic fallout in India from the reduction in world GDP growth is likely to be marginal. A fall in the rate of infection through tougher restrictions and pace in vaccination may quickly stabilize the market"

4:02 PM

MARKET RECAP :: S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities

Weak Global Cues coupled with derivative expiry kept markets in the red even as we witnessed a bout of short-covering in Financials during  Afternoon Trade. Autos bore the brunt of selling today even as we saw Steel stocks in demand on hopes of a price rise while select Pharma names held out well ahead of a curtailed week ahead

3:59 PM

IPO Alert :: Barbeque Nation subscribed 1.86x till 3:50 PM on Day 2 of the issue

3:55 PM

BSE Snapshot

3:53 PM

Broader markets underperform :: MidCap index declines 2%

3:48 PM

Stocks that dragged the Sensex lower today

3:44 PM

March F&O series

>> The S&P BSE Sensex dropped 5 per cent in the March series, while the Nifty50 fell 4.9 per cent.

>> The BSE MidCap index, meanwhile, declined 3.3 per cent.

3:40 PM

Sectoral trends on the NSE

3:39 PM

Sensex Heatmap at Close

3:34 PM

CLOSING BELL

Among the key indices, the BSE barometer of 30 shares ended at 48,440 levels, down 740 points or 1.5 per cent. On the NSE, the broader 50-share index ended at 14,348 levels, down 201 points or 1.4 per cent.

3:26 PM

Godawari Power hits new high in a weak market; stock zooms 39% in 11 days

In the past 11 trading days, the stock of iron & steel/intermediates products company has zoomed 39 per cent after the company got approval for ‘consent to operate' the enhanced capacity of iron ore pellet plant and consent to set up manufacturing facilities in other divisions. READ MORE