NEW DELHI: Supported by the RBI’s liquidity measures for Covid-hit sectors, better than expected Q4FY21 corporate earnings and global factors such as USA’s decision to waive intellectual property rights on vaccines, India’s equity markets ended on a positive note last week despite the country reporting an average daily count of 4 lakh Covid-19 cases.
The BSE Sensex climbed 424.11 points to 49,206.47 and the Nifty was up 192.05 points at 14,823.15 during the week. Going forward this week, experts believe investors will closely watch upcoming Q4 results 165 companies will declare their earnings this week.
Investors will also keep an eye on India’s vaccination drive that is expected to pick up in coming weeks after falling to below 20 lakh doses per day recently. While these two factors may help the market move forward, the risk of a prolonged pandemic and concerns over a possible national lockdown can act as a drag.
“Going ahead, markets are likely to remain range-bound with bouts of volatility. The interplay of resurgence in COVID-19 cases and the pace of vaccination would decide the trajectory of economic recovery going forward,” Siddhartha Khemka, Head-Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services said. Ajit Mishra, VP-Research, Religare Broking noted that an improvement in the domestic COVID situation is critical for any sustainable move up, because otherwise, the rebound may fizzle out. Analysts expect the NSE Nifty to trade in the range of 14500-15000.
“The market would be optimistic if the index stays above the 14,500 level, but if it traded below these levels, it would pull the index even lower. Strong resistance is at 14950-15050 on the higher side, although it may regain the strength above 15000,” noted Gaurav Garg, Head-Research, CapitalVia Global Research.
Sameet Chavan, Chief Analyst-Technical and Derivatives, Angel Broking, pointed out, “Till the time we see the index coming out of its current congestion zone, such boredom is likely to continue. Thus, it’s better not to trade aggressively in index and carrying overnight positions is strictly avoided”.