Indian Equity Indices End Special Session on Positive Note
On May 18, Indian equity indices concluded a special trading session with positive momentum. The Nifty 50 surged by 36 points or 0.16% to settle at 22,502, while the Sensex edged up by 89 points or 0.12% to close at 74,006. Notable gainers included Nestle India, Power Grid Corp, Tata Motors, Hindalco, and ONGC. Despite the overall upward trend, certain stocks faced losses, such as JSW Steel, M&M, Maruti Suzuki, LTIMindtree, and Ultratech Cement.
Sectoral Performance:
- Nifty Midcap 100: Achieved an all-time high of 51,916.45 and closed 0.51% higher at 51,869.25.
- Nifty Bank: Concluded at 48,199.50, exhibiting a 0.17% increase.
Media and realty sectors spearheaded the market gains, while smallcap and midcap stocks also registered positive movement. However, the volatility index saw a notable rise of 3.64%.
Expert Insights:
- Ajit Mishra, Senior VP of Research at Religare Broking:
- Characterized the trading session as dull but managed to end with marginal gains.
- Observed a mixed performance across sectors, with realty and pharma sectors recording modest gains, whereas banking and financial sectors remained subdued.
- Highlighted the broader market’s resilience, as midcap and smallcap indices surged between 0.4% and 0.8%.
- Recommended investors to adhere to a “buy on dips” strategy amid the mixed stock performance.
- Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities:
- Identified heavy writing in both CALL and PUT options at the 22,500 strike, indicating a potential inflection point.
- Advised traders to closely monitor the market in the initial trading hour to confirm any directional movement.
- Noted support at 22,400 and suggested a sustained uptrend could propel the index towards the 22,600 mark and beyond in the short term
