• After hitting a record high in the opening sessions, the equity benchmark Nifty declined by half a percent due to profit booking following a rally of 12 trading sessions. Nifty fell by as much as 1.2% or 300 points intraday, marking its biggest fall since June 4. Price cuts by key automaker M&M, ahead of key US inflation data and the upcoming earnings season, kept the markets cautious. The Nifty 500 stocks' advance-decline ratio was 1:1.50. Nifty declined by 108 points or 0.4% to close at 24,324, while it touched an intraday high of 24,461 and a low of 24,141. Sensex dropped 426 points to settle below 80,000 at 79,924.
• Nifty Auto, banking, and metal stocks witnessed profit booking. However, pharma, FMCG, and paints stocks recorded a smart rally. Traders were booking profits ahead of important events in the next few sessions. TCS will announce its Q1 results tomorrow. US inflation data will be released tomorrow, and India’s inflation data will be announced on Friday. The Union Budget will be presented on July 23, 2024.
• Auto major M&M nosedived 7% to close at 2,731 after the company slashed the prices of the top-end variants of the XUV700 SUV by almost Rs 1 lakh for four months. Paint stocks witnessed fresh buying following the news that Asian Paints raised prices across its portfolio. Asian Paints gained 3% to close at Rs 2,996.
Technical Outlook:
• Nifty index opened positive and after touching a fresh all time high of 24461 zones, it witnessed profit booking of 320 points from its highs. It recovered partially in the second half of the session and closed with losses of around 110 points. It formed a Bearish candle on daily frame with longer lower shadow indicating smart buying at dips.
• Now it has to hold above 24300 zones to extend the move towards 24500 and 24650 zones whereas supports are placed at 24200 then 24100 zones.