Top winners and losers
The Nifty breadth remained positive with 35 stocks ending in the green while the remaining 15 ended in the red. The top five gainers were Power Grid Corporation, Coal India, HDFC Bank, Adani Enterprises and Max Healthcare Institute, while the top five losers were Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Eicher Motors.
Barring media, chemicals and auto sectors, most other indices witnessed buying action with Nifty PSU Bank (1.5%) emerging the best. Energy (Nifty Oil & Gas, 0.9%) also made a major contribution in terms of weight in Nifty. FMCG, pharmaceuticals and real estate rose to 1.6%.
Expert view
Commenting on the day’s action, Nilesh Jain, vice president – head of technical and derivatives research at Centrum Finverse, said Nifty has formed a bullish engulfing candlestick pattern, indicating a possible reversal. The index recovered sharply after testing the 25,400 zone and eventually successfully held above the 21-DMA at 25,480, he said. “However, it closed marginally below the 100-DMA at 25,690, which is now acting as an immediate resistance. The broader structure remains positive and a follow-on move towards 25,800 cannot be ruled out, while the immediate support has shifted higher towards 25,500 levels,” Jain added.
Global markets
Asian markets traded mixed today, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closing down 0.24%. China’s Shanghai Composite ended with sharp interest rate cuts of 1.3%. Among the gainers were Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Singapore’s FTSE Straits Times Index.
Meanwhile, action in European markets was brisk, with the UK’s FTSE 100 trading 0.17% higher at around 10:12am GMT (3:57pm India time), while the Stoxx 600, France’s CAC 40, Germany’s DAX and Spain’s IBEX were up up to 1% at this time.
Watching currency
The Indian rupee’s closing rate was little changed on Monday as usual demand for dollars offset inflows, keeping the currency largely within range at the start of the week. The rupee moved in a narrow band of 10 paise to end at 90.65 against the previous close of 90.6350.The rupee had risen earlier this month, supported by optimism over the US-India trade deal, but has returned to following flow dynamics and external signals.
Dollar sales by exporters and foreign portfolio inflows helped push the currency up 1.5% in February.
“The rupee is not racing. It is waiting,” Reuters reported, citing Amit Pabari, director of FX consultancy CR Forex.
From a technical perspective, the 90.00-90.20 zone remains a key support for USD/INR, and a gradual move towards 91.00-91.20 remains possible in the near term, he said.
While foreign investors remain net buyers of Indian stocks so far this month, they raised more than $800 million on Friday, underscoring that capital flows remain choppy.
Rough impact
Crude oil traded lower on Monday. US WTI oil contracts traded at $62.670, down $0.22 or 0.35%, while Brent oil futures hovered around $67.54, down $0.21 or 0.31%.
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