Sensex slips 207 points, Nifty ends at 18,211; metals, private banks drag

After holding steady for most part of the day, Indian benchmark equity indices slipped into the red and settled lower on Wednesday led by losses in banks and metal stocks. Sensex ended at 61,143.33, down 206.93 points or 0.34%, while Nifty closed 57.45 points or 0.31% lower at 18,210.95. "Index opened a day with a small gap but unable to sustain on highs & showed profit booking resulting closed a day at 18210 with loss of half per cent and formed again a bearish candle on the daily chart. Index has formed a strong hurdle zone near 18325 zone trading below said levels we may see some more profit booking but if managed to cross said levels decisively then next move towards 18500-18600 zone can’t rule out so fresh long would be suggested above 18325 zones and on the other hand, immediate support is coming near 18150-18000 zone also long traders can trail there stop out below 18k mark," said Rohit Singre, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.

Gainers & losers

[caption id="attachment_92606" align="alignnone" width="795"] Top gainers & losers on the Sensex.[/caption]

Sectoral strand

Sectoral indices on the NSE ended mixed with the Nifty PSU Bank index surging 2.05% followed by the Nifty IT index advancing 0.97% and the Nifty Pharma index rallied 0.88%. While the Nifty FMCG & Nifty Realty index was up 0.31% & 0.30% respectively. On the downside, the Nifty Metal index tanked 1.52%, Nifty Private Bank plunged 1.37%, Nifty Bank plummeted 0.88% and Nifty Auto index slipped 0.50%. The volatility gauge India VIX spiked up by 0.44% to 16.82 levels.

Broader markets

Broader markets outperformed benchmark indices. BSE MidCap index ended flat with a positive bias of 5 points or 0.02% to 25,590 while the BSE SmallCap index settled at 28,534 higher by 85 points or 0.30%. The market breadth was positive as 1,777 shares advanced compared to 1,469 declining and 148 remain unchanged.

Global markets

European stocks declined across the board while most Asian stocks declined on Wednesday as traders weighed the latest U.S. earnings reports amid lingering concerns about growth risks from elevated inflation and China's indebted property sector. In the UK, Finance Minister Rishi Sunak is said to deliver his budget later in the session. The half-yearly update on the country's public finances is expected to bring increased spending on health care, transport and a rise in public sector pay. In Asia, profits at China's industrial firms rose at a faster pace in September even as surging raw material prices and supply bottlenecks squeezed margins and weighed on factory activity. Profits jumped 16.3% on-year to 738.74 billion yuan ($115.72 billion), the statistics bureau said on Wednesday, quickening from the 10.1% gain reported in August.