The week gone by was nothing short of a roller coaster ride for equity investors. From a 3% downtick in a single day to rallying 3% the next day, the Ukraine-Russia stand-off in eastern Europe resulted in wild swings on the bourses all through the week. Overall, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 closed with meagre weekly losses of 0.5% each after Russia reportedly withdrew some troops across the Ukrainian border. In the broader market, the BSE MidCap index fell 1.9% while the BSE SmallCap index shed 3.2%. However, it is notable that investors – globally and in India – are adopting a risk-off approach and are looking for strategies to minimise losses amid choppy markets. While Dow Jones has corrected 4% and Nasdaq has dropped 5% thus in February, the frontline S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 have gained around 0.25% and 0.2%, respectively. Despite this, there are nine stocks that gained between 15% and 20% in February.
Of these, four counters – Blue Star, RHI Magnesia India, Schneider Electric Infrastructure and Elgi Equipments soared over 20% during this period, data show. This week, analysts expect volatility to continue in line with global peers, as the geo-political uncertainty, volatile crude oil prices and monthly F&O expiry are likely to weigh on the market sentiment. Besides, there are hosts of other events lined up in the next few weeks in the form of the big-ticket LIC IPO, the assembly election, and the implementation of the new margin system, which will lend incremental volatility to the markets. Milind Muchhala, who is Executive Director at Julius Baer says, “These interim corrections can present a good opportunity to gradually build-up on the equity exposure, as we continue to believe that the earnings momentum will remain a key support for the market. Our preferred sectors include domestic cyclicals such as Financials, Industrials and Infra, Building Material and Auto, while we would also be positively biased on consumption (especially discretionary), Healthcare, IT (on corrections) and select names on bottom-up basis.” Technically, the 50-share Nifty is expected to move within 16,750 and 17,620 zone, with support placed at 16,920. The Sensex index, meanwhile, will seek support at 57,000 level and could trade in the range of 56,450 and 59,150.
Watch video
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
