Sensex falls 876 points, Nifty slips below 22,900 amid selling in bank, IT stocks
Mumbai, Oct 19 (IANS) Benchmark equity indices ended sharply lower on Monday as heavy selling in banking and information technology stocks weighed on investor sentiment.
The Sensex declined 876.37 points, or 1.17 per cent, to close at 73,852.90. The Nifty also snapped its two-day winning streak, falling 257.20 points, or 1.11 per cent, to settle at 22,888.95.
Commenting on technical outlook, experts said that Nifty formed a long bearish candlestick as selling pressure emerged near the 38.2 per cent Fibonacci retracement level at 23,186, measured from the August 3 high to the October 8 low.
"The index also breached the crucial 23,000 support, indicating continued weakness. Immediate support is placed at 22,800–22,820, near its daily 20-SMA. A break below 22,650–22,700 could further intensify selling pressure," analysts stated.
"Index traders should remain cautious, keeping 22,800 as key support and 23,000–23,186 as resistance. Long positions built during the mean-reversion rally should be reviewed, with a break below 22,600 levels," they added.
Weakness was visible across the broader market as well, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices ending lower by 1.09 per cent and 1.01 per cent, respectively.
Sectorally, selling pressure remained broad-based, with the Nifty Private Bank index emerging as the worst-performing sector of the day.
Among Sensex constituents, SBI and Adani Ports bucked the broader market trend to emerge as the top gainers, rising more than 1 per cent each. L&T, IndiGo and Maruti Suzuki were also among the stocks that ended in positive territory.
On the losing side, Axis Bank led the decline, followed by UltraTech Cement, Infosys, Bajaj Finance and Trent, as investors booked profits in several heavyweight counters.
Experts said that market participants remained cautious amid persistent selling in key large-cap stocks, dragging both headline indices lower and erasing gains recorded in the previous two sessions.
--IANS
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