Taking Stock: Nifty ends below 22,750 amid expiry day volatility; Sensex sheds 242 pts

As per the latest business developments, In a volatile session, Indian equity markets ended softer for the second consecutive day on September 29, with the Nifty closing around 22,700 amid F&O expiry.

The market opened on a weak note and hit an intraday low of 22,569.65. Despite a mid-session recovery, uncertainty over prospects of an Iran war peace deal, persistent FII selling, a weakening indian rupee, rising oil price marks and elevated US Treasury yields continued to weigh on sentiment.

At close, the Sensex was down 242.65 points or 0.33 percent at 72,529.07, and the Nifty was down 64.05 points or 0.28 percent at 22,716.20.

Broader markets underperformed the main indices with Nifty midcap index declining 0.6 percent and smallcap index falling 0.8 percent.

Titan Firm, Eternal, HCL Technologies, HDFC Life, Infosys were among top Nifty losers, while gainers were Dr Reddy's Labs, NTPC, Tata Steel, Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports.

Among sectors, except media, metal and pharma, all other sectoral indices ended in the red with Auto, Information Technology and Consumer Durables down over 1 percent each.

More than 220 stocks touched 52-week low, including PB Fintech, REC, Jyothy Labs, Aditya Birla Fashion, UPL, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, IEX, Havells India, DCM Shriram, General Insurance Corporation, India Cements, SJVN, Blue Dart Express, NCC, KEC International, CG Consumer Electricals, Tata Elxsi, Eris Lifesciences, Wipro and Godrej Consumer Products, among others. Click to View More

Among individual stocks, Azad Engineering shares surged 6.7% after Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating with a target price of ₹3,315. Symbiotec Pharmalab advanced 8% after the USFDA issued an Establishment Inspection Report for its Pithampur manufacturing facility, while Rays of Belief jumped 14% after reporting a consolidated Q1 earnings of Rs 2.8 crore against a loss of Rs 0.5 crore in the year-ago period.

Prasol Chemicals shares jumped 10% after Q1 earnings surged 150.7% YoY to Rs 61 crore. Petronet LNG declined 2.5% after Jefferies maintained an Underperform rating with a target price of ₹240.

Among other stocks, Pidilite Industries declined nearly 2% after entering into a strategic partnership with South Korea-based Hwaseung Chemical, while Allcargo Logistics shed 2% after Managing Director and CEO Ketan Kulkarni resigned. Ola Electric declined nearly 1% after HSBC maintained a Reduce rating with a target price of ₹24.

The Indian indian rupee erased all the intraday losses to close flat at 95.98 per dollar on Tuesday, compared with Monday’s close of 95.98. Outlook for September 30

Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities

Today, the key market indices recovered from their intraday lows. The Nifty ended 65 points softer, while the Sensex declined 243  points. Among the sectors, almost all major sectoral indices came under selling pressure, with the consumer index losing the most, shedding over 2 percent.

Technically, after a sharp intraday  dip, the market found backing near 22,570/72000 and trimmed some of its intraday losses. On the daily chart, it formed a Doji  candlestick formation , while the intraday charts keep show a weak formation, suggesting further softness from current marks.

In our view, the market’s short-term trend stays weak, although a quick intraday pullback surge cannot be ruled out. For day traders, 22,600/72200 is a key backing zone. Above this level, the pullback could continue toward 22,850–23,000/73000-73500. On the downside, a break below 22,600/72200 could accelerate selling pressure and drag the market toward 22,500–22,400/72000-71700.

Rupak De, Senior Technical Market observer at LKP Securities

The index eased to its 200-week moving average as the slide extended. This is the first time since the Covid crash that Nifty has fallen to the 200-week moving average, which is at present placed at 22,600.

A decisive break below this level could trigger a sharper correction in the market. That stated, if Nifty manages to hold above 22,600, a similar recovery towards the elevated end could be anticipated. As a result, 22,600 will stay a crucial backing level for Nifty.

On the elevated end, immediate resistance is placed at 22,800.