Informist, Tuesday, Feb 15, 2022
By Joe Milton
MUMBAI – Domestic equity indices recouped all losses witnessed on Monday after the Russian Defence Ministry announced a pullback of a number of troops deployed around the Ukrainian border to their bases, a move that soothed investors’ nerves and fuelled optimism.
Russia’s joint military exercise in Belarus is, however, due to continue till Feb 20.
Allayed concerns over a war between the two European neighbours led to a strong comeback of equities in India and across Europe, and price of Brent crude oil falling over 2% to $94.3 per barrel. Prices of natural gas, too, fell in Europe.
Indian equities started the day on a slightly positive note and struggled for direction in the initial hours of trading. However, headline indices raced up after reports of easing geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, leading the Nifty 50 to close comfortably above 17300 points.
The 50-stock index gained 3% to settle at 17352.45 points, after touching an intraday high and low of 17375 points and 16839.25 points, respectively. The BSE Sensex bounced from the day’s low of 56438.47 points to close 3.1% higher at 58142.05 points.
On Monday, traders added short positions in index futures after the indices nosedived 3%. However, traders were prompted to cover their short positions after the Nifty 50 index crossed the 17100 points level today, propelling the index beyond 17300 points.
“We believe investors should utilise this increase in volatility to build positions in quality large-cap and mid-cap stocks as the earnings expectations for Indian corporates remain strong,” said Neeraj Chadawar, head, quantitative equity research, Axis Securities Ltd.
Markets “fear gauge”, India VIX, fell 10.3% and cooled off to 20.6125 points. Analysts are keeping a close eye on a fall in the gauge to below 17 points.
Among sectors, strong buying was witnessed in automobile, information technology, and financial stocks.
Investors accumulated value stocks at lower levels in the information technology sector, following their sharp correction in the past few sessions.
Most companies on the Nifty IT index have shed over 20% from their record levels touched in the past two months.
Shares of Mindtree, Wipro, Coforge, Mphasis, and Larsen & Toubro Infotech gained 3-6% with the Nifty IT index closing about 3.1% higher at 34913.30 points.
Shares of banks such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, and Kotak Mahindra Bank closed 3-6% higher, leading the Nifty Bank index to emerge as one of the top gainers among sectoral indices.
The Nifty Bank index, too, witnessed short covering that helped the index to close 3.4% higher at 38170.10 points.
Among specific stocks, shares of Eicher Motors surged 6% to close at 2,724 rupees as a strong growth outlook for the company remained intact despite weak Oct-Dec earnings.
Laggards among the Nifty 50 constituents were Cipla and Oil and Natural Gas Corp that shed 3.5% and 1.2%, respectively.
The broader market, too, rebounded with all the small-cap and mid-cap indices on the NSE ending 2-3% higher. The overall market breadth was positive as the number of gainers outnumbered the laggards on the exchange.
* Among Nifty 50 stocks, 48 rose and 1 fell
* Among Sensex stocks, all 30 rose
* On the NSE, 1,448 stocks rose, 623 fell and 43 were unchanged
* On the BSE, 2,056 stocks rose, 1,316 fell and 92 were unchanged
* Nifty Pharma: Down 1.91%; Nifty Auto: Down 3.86%; Nifty IT: Down 1.45%
BSE National Stock Exchange
Sensex: 58142.05, up 1736.21 pts (3.08%) Nifty 50: 17352.45, up 509.65 pts (3.03%)
S&P BSE Sensitive Index Nifty 50
Lifetime High: 62245.43 (Oct 19) : Lifetime High: 18604.45 (Oct 19)
Record Close High: 61765.59 (Oct 18) : Record Close High: 18477.05 (Oct 18)
2022 1st day close: 59183.22 (Jan 3) : 2022 1st day close: 17625.70 (Jan 3)
2022 Closing High: 61308.91 (Jan 17) : 2022 Closing High: 18308.10 (Jan 17)
2022 Closing Low: 56405.84 (Feb 14) : 2022 Closing Low: 16842.80 (Feb 14)
2022 High (intraday): 61385.48 (Jan 17) : 2022 High (intraday): 18321.55 (Jan 17)
2022 Low (intraday): 56295.70 (Feb 14) : 2022 Low (intraday): 16809.65 (Feb 14)
2021 Closing High: 61305.95 (Oct 14) : 2021 Closing High: 18338.55 (Oct 14)
2021 Closing Low: 46285.77 (Jan 29) : 2021 Closing Low: 13634.60 (Jan 29)
2021 High (intraday): 61353.25 (Oct 14) : 2021 High (intraday): 18350.75 (Oct 14)
2021 Low (intraday): 46160.46 (Jan 29) : 2021 Low (intraday): 13596.75 (Jan 29)
2020 Closing High: 47751.33 (Dec 31) : 2020 Closing High: 13981.95 (Dec 30)
2020 Closing Low: 25981.24 (Mar 23) : 2020 Closing Low: 7610.25 (Mar 23)
2020 High (intraday): 47896.97 (Dec 31) : 2020 High (intraday): 14024.85 (Dec 31)
2020 Low (intraday): 25638.90 (Mar 24) : 2020 Low (intraday): 7511.10 (Mar 24)
2019 High (intraday): 41809.96 (Dec 20) : 2019 High (intraday): 12293.90 (Dec 20)
2019 Low (intraday): 35287.16 (Feb 19) : 2019 Low (intraday): 10583.65 (Jan 29)
2018 High (intraday): 38938.91(Aug 28)) : 2018 High(intraday): 11760.20 (Aug 28)
2018 Low (intraday): 32483.8 (Mar 23) : 2018 Low (intraday): 9951.9 (Mar 23)
2017 High (intraday): 34005.37 (Dec 26) : 2017 High(intraday): 10515.10 (Dec 26)
End
Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj
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Source: Cogencis