Equity benchmarks retreated on Tuesday, with the Sensex opening at 76,073.71 compared to its previous close of 75,996.86 and is currently trading at 75,810.44, down by 186.42 points or 0.25 per cent. Similarly, the Nifty opened at 22,963.65 against its previous close of 22,959.50 and is now at 22,880.10, losing 79.40 points or 0.35 per cent.
“The weakness in the market persists despite the mild recovery yesterday. FIIs are likely to continue to sell,” said Dr. V K Vijayakumar of Geojit Financial Services, noting that Chinese markets could attract more foreign flows given their lower valuations.
Technology stocks bucked the trend, with Tech Mahindra, Wipro and Infosys gaining between 0.6-0.9 per cent. Healthcare names Apollo Hospitals and Sun Pharma advanced around 0.8 per cent each. However, Grasim Industries led the declines, falling 2 per cent, followed by BPCL, Shriram Finance, Tata Steel and BEL.
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“GIFT Nifty is trading sideways this Tuesday morning after Nifty snapped an 8-day losing streak. The focus is on Wednesday’s FOMC minutes,” said Prashanth Tapse of Mehta Equities, highlighting that FIIs have withdrawn Rs. 120,494 crores so far this year.
Crude oil futures edged higher after a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian oil facility, with Brent up 0.21 per cent at $75.38. “The index faces resistance at 23,300 and has support at 28,800 due to highest open interest,” noted Ameya Ranadive of StoxBox.
“The rupee has depreciated by 1.5 per cent since the beginning of this year, increasing concerns about import inflationary pressure,” said Ms. VLA Ambala of Stock Market Today, adding that the trade deficit widened to $22.99 billion last month.
Shrikant Chouhan of Kotak Securities said, “As long as the market is trading above 22800/75500, the pullback formation is likely to continue,” while setting potential targets at 23075/76500.
“Yesterday’s rebound in the Nifty ended an 8-day loss streak, showing the importance of support in the 22700-22800 area,” observed Akshay Chinchalkar of Axis Securities.
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FIIs sold equities worth ₹3,937.8 crore on February 17, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth ₹4,759.8 crore. The market breadth remained negative in early trade as investors awaited fresh triggers.
Sameet Chavan of Angel One advised traders to “avoid panic selling and refrain from initiating fresh short positions,” suggesting accumulation of quality stocks on dips.
