Sensex, Nifty opened lower; Adani stocks jump up to 5%; Home First tank 8%

Domestic equity markets opened flat on Thursday as benchmark indices see-sawed between red and green territory amid the lack of clear direction by the global peers. US stock ended mixed in the overnight trade after US Fed chairman Jerome Powell reiterated his hawkish tone over rate hike path. At 9.25 am, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex was down 121.85 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 60,226.24. NSE's Nifty50 shed 23 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 17,734.75. Broader markets outperformed the headline peers as BSE midcap and smallcap indices gained about half a per cent, each. Fear gauge India VIX spiked to 12.51-level. The near-term support is strong near the 17,550 level and further a decisive breach above 17,800 would strengthen the current trend for carrying on with the momentum still further ahead for the next target of 18,100 levels. The support for the day is seen at 17,650 while the resistance is seen at 17,900, said Prabhudas Lilladher in its opening note. Metal stock led the gainers as Nifty Metal index jumped about 2 per cent, whereas Nifty Pharma, Realty and Media indices were also up. Nifty IT index led the losers, followed by FMCG, auto and banking counters. In the Nifty50 pack, Hindalco, Tata Steel and JSW Steel jumped over 2 per cent, each, followed by Apollo Hospitals and Divis Labs. Axis Bank and Bharti Airtel also gained a per cent each. Among the losers, SBI Life and Reliance Industries shed a per cent, each. Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services and ICICI Bank were also among the top laggards. Adani Group stocks were trading higher despite the negative news flow including increased pledging and the addition of three stocks under ASM framework. Adani Wilmar, Adani Power, Adani Green Energy, Adani Transmission, NDTV Adani Total Gas hit an upper circuit of 5 per cent, each. Ambuja Cements, ACC, Adani Ports and Adani Enterprises were also in green. Nifty is likely to remain in a range of 17450 -17850 before breaking up or down. If tomorrow’s payroll data from the US show better-than-expected job numbers and a strong economy, the Fed will have to raise rates by 50 bp in the March 22 meeting. This can pull the Nifty down from the range, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. "On the other hand, if the jobs data is weak indicating a weakening economy, the Fed will raise rates only by 25 bps, which will facilitate a rally in US markets and break out of the Nifty above the upper band. So, watch out for this crucial job data. Even though strong jobs data is negative for equity markets, it can be good for IT stocks," he said. In the broader markets, Sequent Scientific advanced more than 13 per cent to Rs 71.51 on Thursday after the pharma player announced the acquisition of a 100 per cent stake in Tineta Pharma. Shilpa Medicare also rose about 10 per cent during the early hours. On the contrary, Home First Finance Company India plunged about 8 per cent over the bulk deal buzz. Gokaldas Exports also dropped over 4 per cent amid the reports that one of its promoters, Clear Wealth Consultancy Services, sold over 8.25 per cent stake in the company.

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