Sensex tumbles 600 pts; Nifty Midcap on track for biggest single-day fall since Oct 23

The equity benchmarks wiped off early gains and slipped in negative territory on December 20 noon trade.

At 2:30 pm, the 30-pack Sensex was crashed 1,000 points from the record high of 71,913, while the broad-based Nifty was 341 points off from the new peak of 21,252.

Broader indices, too, slipped in red. Nifty midcap 100 slipped more than 1,200 points  off highs and is on track for biggest single-day fall since October 23.

Sectoral trends

While all sectors participated in the early trade, some profit-booking was seen in metal and PSU banking counters in the afternoon.

On the flipside, Nifty FMCG, consumer durables, and oil & gas continued to perform well, gaining over a percent each.

The Nifty IT index eased off from early trade but was in the green after Accenture’s muted Q2 revenue guidance. Analysts believe that the sector continued to gain traction amid US Federal Reserve’s dovish forecast for 2024.

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Fundamental view

According to VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, the markets were consolidating at higher levels ahead of holiday season in the West.

“The steady rise in the mother market US, which has helped the Dow to set a new record high, is exhibiting the same trend. The fact that the fear gauge – VIX – is at a low level of 12 is an indicator of the underlying strength of the market,” he said.

Technical view

Vaishali Parekh, Vice President – Technical Research, Prabhudas Lilladher, said as the Nifty hovered near 21,300-21,500, it has a strong support near 21,300-21,280. The resistance is at 21,550.

For the day, the support is at 21,300 and resistance at 21,600, he said.

On the radar

Market participants are closely tracking the developments in the Red Sea regions after several shipping giants paused shipments through the route following attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

The disruption has led the US to launch an international naval operation to protect ships on the Red Sea route.

Analysts have warned that attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea risk pushing up the price of oil and other goods.

ALSO READ: IT stocks shrug concerns over Accenture’s weak demand outlook, gain 1-2%

Key Nifty gainers

ONGC, Tata Consumer, Hero MotoCorp, Wipro and LTIMindtree were the top Nifty gainers.

Key Nifty losers

HCL Technologies, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma and Adani Ports were the top Nifty losers.

Key Sensex gainers

Wipro, Reliance Industries, TCS, Ultratech Cement and Titan were the top Sensex gainers.

Key Sensex losers

HCL Technologies, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank and Nestle India were the top Sensex losers.

Stock moves

Among individual stocks, Varun Beverages gained 15 percent to hit a 52-week high of Rs 1,380.45 on December 20 after the company announced acquisition of South Africa-based Beverage Company (Bevco) along with its wholly-owned subsidiaries.

Ajmera Realty gained 3 percent to Rs 441 after Quest Investment Advisors, a portfolio manager, acquired a 1.4 percent stake in the real estate company.

Ashok Leyland was up 2 percent at Rs 179 after global brokerage firm CLSA shared a “buy” rating on the counter, with a target price of Rs 238, implying an upside of 33 percent.

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