Markets slip for second consecutive day; what should investors do on Wednesday?

Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Tuesday for the second consecutive session tracking weak global cues. Equities were dragged by the sharp selling pressure seen in pharma stocks. Sensex closed 273 points or 0.5% lower at 52,578, while Nifty slipped 78 points or 0.49% to end at 15,746.50. Broader indices also closed in the red. Among the sectors, except Nifty Metal and Nifty PSU Bank all other sectoral indices on NSE ended lower. Nifty pharma, down over 4%, was the top laggard followed by Nifty Private Bank, Nifty FMCG, Nifty Realty, Nifty Auto and Nifty IT.

Shares of Dr Reddy’s nosedived more than 10%, likely its biggest fall since March-May last year triggered by the lower-than-expected earnings for the June quarter that the company had reported.

Asian stocks hit their lowest this year on a third straight session of selling in Chinese internet giants, and real bond yields hit record lows ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting.

Shares of Zomato also fell snapping the 3 days winning streak on Tuesday. The stock fell 8% intraday.

Here’s how experts see markets trading on Wednesday

Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking

Markets traded volatile for yet another session and lost nearly half a percent. The tussle is still on over the next directional move in the index and there’s no clear indication yet. Excessive volatility due to prevailing earnings season and upcoming monthly expiry of derivatives contracts are further adding to the participants’ worries. We reiterate our view to restrict leveraged positions and wait for clarity

Shrikant Chouhan, EVP, Equity Technical Research, Kotak Securities

The market was down mainly due to consistent and aggressive selling from FIIs in the Asian markets. The Nifty Metal index closed in the positive territory for the fourth consecutive day. The setup of the market is range bound and as we are approaching the supports of the lower boundary 15,650-15,600, we need to be stock specific. On the higher side, 15,810/52,750 and 15,900/53,100 would be resistance levels.

S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP securities

Stocks gave up gains today as investors were nervous on the selling across Chinese Markets by global funds coupled with the policies of the Chinese Authorities and the likely impact on Indian Markets despite knowing that it is also a positive for India. While we did see profit booking across banks and the pharma pack on account of negative newsflow on few pharma names, certain pockets across the broader market like textile exporters & coffee stocks posted smart gains on the back of rising coffee futures.