Top gainers and losers
As for sectoral indices, financial services (down by 0.18%), FMCG (down by 0.21%), media (down by 0.45%) and metal (down by 0.03%) closed the day in red. On the other hand, pharma (up by 1.39%), healthcare (up by 1.28%) and mid-small healthcare (up by 1.25%) ended the day in green.
Out of 2,788 stocks traded today on the exchange, 1,527 saw advances, while 1,175 saw declines. 234 stocks hit their 52-week high, while 8 stocks hit their 52-week low as well. 166 stocks hit the upper circuit during the day's trade, while 41 stocks hit the lower circuit as well.
According to Mr. Aditya Gaggar, director of Progressive Shares, "right from the beginning, the index was seen giving up its gains and ended the session at 24,302.15 with a minuscule gain of 15.65 points. The pharma sector regained its momentum and advanced more than 1% to be the top performer followed by IT. On the flip side, media and FMCG were the laggards. The interest of market participants was more toward broader markets as mid and smallcaps moved over 0.45%. From the past couple of days, it seems that the index is finding it difficult to hold higher levels and bearish divergence in RSI indicates weakening of momentum. The immediate support is placed at 24,150 while on the higher side, 24,400 will be considered as resistance".
Expert view
Mr. Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd advises that the traders should focus more on stock selection and utilize dip/consolidation to add quality names to their portfolio. "The markets traded within a narrow range and ended nearly unchanged, pausing after wednesday's gains. After an initial rise, the nifty fluctuated throughout the day and settled near its lowest point at 24,306.55. Sector-wise, there was a mixed trend with pharmaceuticals, IT, and automotive sectors seeing moderate gains, whileShrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities notes that for traders, 24,400/80,390 would be the immediate breakout level. "Above this, the market could rally up to 24,500-24,525/80,700-80,800. On the flip side, below 24,280/80,000 the sentiment could change. Below the same, the market could retest the level of 24,200-24,165/79,700-795,50", he continued.