Sensex, Nifty slip in opening deals; PVR Inox & Sobha down up to 4%; Brightcom Group up 5%

Indian equity benchmarks traded lower in opening deals on Tuesday, dragged by financials and banking stocks. The 30-share BSE Sensex pack fell 80 points or 0.13 per cent to trade at 62,265, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 13 points or 0.07 per cent down to trade at 18,386. On the global front, Asian shares were up tracking an overnight rise in the US stock markets.

Back home, mid- and small-cap shares were positive as Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.68 per cent and small-cap moved 0.55 per cent higher.

"The structure remains strong, and we expect the benchmark (Nifty) index to challenge the next resistance of 18,500 quite soon. On the flip side, 18,350–18,290 are to be considered as immediate support. Any intraday decline toward this sacrosanct zone should ideally be considered a buying opportunity. In addition, the banking index is on the verge of surpassing its previous record highs, we expect the rally to gather some momentum going ahead. Traders are advised to be with the trend and should focus on stock centric approach," said Sameet Chavan, Head of Research, Technical and Derivatives at Angel One.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their buying streak for the 13th straight session on Monday, adding Rs 1,685 crore worth of shares.

10 out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- were trading in the red. Sub-indexes Nifty Financial Services and Nifty Private Bank were underperforming the NSE platform by falling as much as 0.47 per cent and 0.30 per cent, respectively.

On the stock-specific front, Maruti was the top loser in the Nifty pack as the stock cracked 0.95 per cent to trade at Rs 9,120. M&M, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank fell up to 0.77 per cent.

In contrast, Cipla, Divi's Labs, ONGC, Sun Pharma and Hero MotoCorp were among the top gainers.

The overall market breadth was slightly positive as 1,856 shares were advancing while 1,802 were declining on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, PVR Inox and Sobha Ltd tanked up to 3.50 per cent. On the other hand, Brightcom Group, Amber Enterprises, Manappuram Finance and Tube Investments climbed up to 4.98 per cent.

Sensex had jumped 318 points or 0.51 per cent to close at 62,346 on Monday; while Nifty had moved 84 points or 0.46 per cent up to settle at 18,399.  

Nifty outlook

"Nifty has moved further strongly above the 18,350 barrier zone to indicate strength and further rise is anticipated in the coming days with support strong near the 18,200 zone. Most of the major frontline stocks like RIL, ICICI Bank, ITC, L&T, Infy and M&M have supported the index to surge ahead with bias remaining positive. The support for the day is seen at 18,250 levels while the resistance is seen at 18,550 levels," said Vaishali Parekh, Vice-President - Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher.

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