Sensex and Nifty are down on weak global cues; markets are indecisive due to lack of triggers
The Sensex and Nifty 50 kicked off trading on February 20 with a downtrend, influenced by subdued global cues. Following Nifty’s record peak of 22,186 in the prior session, analysts suggest that maintaining levels above 22,150 may instigate additional upward momentum toward the 22,400 threshold in the coming days.
On February 20, the Sensex and Nifty both saw a decline of 0.2 percent, settling at 72,569 and 22,069, respectively, during the opening deals. Mandar Bhojane, a Research Analyst at Choice Broking, observed that the Nifty’s daily chart displayed a neutral candlestick pattern, indicating a state of indecision between bullish and bearish sentiments. Bhojane suggested that maintaining levels above 22,150 could potentially pave the path for an upward trajectory towards 22,400 in the near term.
The India VIX, a gauge of near-term market volatility, edged up by one percent, trading above 16. Sacchitanand Uttekar, Vice-President of Research & Data Analytics at TradeBulls Securities, emphasized that unless the India VIX breaks out of the narrow range between 15 and 16, it’s unlikely to witness any significant directional movement in the Nifty.
He conveyed to Moneycontrol that the day’s stance leans towards neutral-to-positive. He elaborated that if Nifty were to drop below 21,980, it could experience a downward trend. However, he noted that if it manages to sustain levels above 22,140, there’s potential for Nifty to reclaim the 22,300-22,340 range within the week. During the first hour of trading, the broader markets exhibited a mixed performance. The Nifty Midcap 100 index dipped by 0.1 percent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index saw a gain of 0.2 percent.
In terms of sectors, the Nifty Media and Realty indices emerged as the top gainers, surging by over 1 percent each. Meanwhile, the Nifty Auto and Pharma indices lagged, experiencing the most significant declines.
Asia-Pacific markets remain weak; US futures slide.
The majority of markets in the Asia-Pacific region traded with subdued activity this morning. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index saw a slight decrease, while South Korea’s Kospi and Australia’s S&P 200 indices recorded gains of up to 1 percent.
Conversely, futures linked to US markets declined overnight. This shift comes after a week of losses on Wall Street, triggered by economic data that raised concerns regarding the Federal Reserve’s potential delay in initiating rate reductions as anticipated by market participants.
