Daily Markets - Jan 22, 2021 - Mr. Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities

Indian benchmark equity indices ended lower for the second straight day on Jan 22, correcting further after making a record high on Thursday. This was the biggest single-day drop for the benchmarks in a month. Friday's correction marked the end of an 11-week gaining streak for the frontline indices, which was the longest since 2009. At close the NSE Nifty 50 index fell 1.1% to end at 14,371.

Volumes on the NSE were large on a negative day. Among sectors, Nifty Bank, PSU bank, Metals and Realty fell the most while Auto index gained. Broad market indices fell less than the Nifty.

Virus worries were front and center with Asian stocks falling, as a spike in Chinese infections sparked testing of millions in Beijing, and an urging by the government to avoid travel during February's Lunar New Year holiday. European stocks dropped on Friday, on rising COVID-19 cases and lockdown worries globally, and as optimism surrounding a leadership change at the White House ran out of steam.

Adding to investor worries, data showed the flash eurozone purchasing managers index dropping in January to a two-month low of 47.5, coming close to the expected 47.6 - from 49.1 in December. U.K. retail sales only grew 0.3% in December, weaker than expected, as retailers struggled to recover in the crucial holiday period from a partial coronavirus lockdown the previous month, marking a weak end to their worst year on record.

The Nifty seems to have begun the pre-Budget correction. Though the week on week loss is just 0.43%, the sentiments are dented severely going by the sharply adverse advance decline ratio. 14049-14098 is the support band for the Nifty.

Source : Equity Bulls

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