Sensex, Nifty close lower for third day; recovery on cards?

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed in the red for the third straight session on Wednesday. Investor wealth slipped to Rs 466.18 lakh crore today. Sensex fell 120.21 points to 84,559.65 and Nifty was down 41.55 points at 25,818.55. 

Of 30 Sensex stocks, 13 ended in the red. Trent, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finserv, BEL  and Titan shares were the top Sensex losers, falling up to 1.64%. 

As many as 94 stocks hit their 52-week highs today. On the other hand, 196 shares fell to their 52-week lows on BSE. 

BSE small cap index tumbled 431 pts to 50,313 and midcap index crashed 245 pts to close at 45,946.

Market breadth was negative as out of 4,328 stocks traded, 2,694 stocks were in the red and 1475 shares ended in the green. Around 159 stocks remained unchanged.

Among sectoral indices, BSE Capital goods and BSE consumer durables shares were the top losers with the indices losing 636 pts and 491 pts, respectively. Oil & gas, metal and IT stocks were the sole gainers with their BSE indices rising 90 pts, 93 pts and 76 pts, respectively. 

Nandish Shah - Deputy Vice President, HDFC Securities said, "Over the past three sessions, Nifty has been forming a pattern of lower highs and lower lows on the daily chart, signaling that bears currently have the upper hand in the short term. Nifty has reached near to its 50 DEMA support, which is currently placed at 25765. A decisive break below the 50-DEMA could trigger additional selling pressure and deepen the ongoing correction. On the upside, the 26,000 zone is expected to pose immediate resistance; a sustained close above it may prompt short covering in the index."

Osho Krishan, Chief Manager -Technical and Derivative research at Angel One said, "On the levels front, the support is seen around the 25750-25700 zone, coinciding with 50 DEMA and lows from the previous week, which has facilitated a rebound. A breakdown below the same could disrupt the near-term outlook. On the other hand, the 20 DEMA at 25950, followed by 26, 000 represents a sturdy hurdle and a sustained move beyond this could only provide a breather to market participants."

Meanwhile, Indian rupee snapped its five-day losing streak, rising sharply by 65 paise against the US dollar. The rebound is widely attributed to suspected intervention by the central bank.