Mr. Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities
Nifty closed lower for the sixth consecutive session after volatile trade on Feb 23, despite most other markets bouncing up. Nifty reversed the early gains in the last hour of trade. At close, Nifty was down 0.22% or 38 points at 17054. This is the longest losing streak for the Nifty in over a year.
On a day when the volumes on the NSE were lower than the recent average, Realty and Consumer Durables indices gained the most while Auto and Capital Goods indices fell the most. BSE Midcap index closed 0.6% higher while the Smallcap index closed 0.97% higher.
Global stocks broke a four-day slide and demand for safe-haven assets waned on Wednesday as investors weighed up the latest developments between Russia and Ukraine and softer-than-feared sanctions helped to lift the mood.
Nifty could not hold on to early gains reflecting the sell-on-rise behavior adopted by traders and investors (especially foreigners). However advance decline ratio has improved to much above 1:1 taking relief from the positive global markets. Nifty could trade in the 17001-17228 band in the near term.