Mr. Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities
Nifty closed marginally in the red on the last day of the financial year after swinging between gains and losses. Nifty opened flat and made mildly lower tops and bottoms through the day. At close Nifty was down 0.19% or 33.5 points at 17464.7.
On a monthly F&O expiry day, volumes on the NSE were the lowest since the December expiry day. Among sectoral indices, Telecom, FMCG and Power indices rose the most while Healthcare index fell the most. BSE Smallcap and Midcap indices were up 0.29-0.31%.
Global markets sank Thursday after Chinese manufacturing weakened and Russian shelling around Ukraine's capital shook hopes for progress in peace talks. Oil fell almost $5 per barrel in New York but stayed above $100 following reports President Joe Biden would release U.S. reserves to cool surging prices amid anxiety about possible disruption to Russian supplies. Sentiment was also hurt when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) added more Chinese companies trading in the US - including Baidu and online brokerage Futu Holdings - to a list of those allegedly not complying with the law, a move that will lead to possible delisting.
Nifty seems to be consolidating after a rise. In the new F&O expiry series and a new fiscal year, we could see some upward momentum in the first few days. Whether this will take Nifty beyond the 17795 mark will be interesting to watch. On down moves 17344 could be a support.