Mumbai, September 19, 2023 – In observance of Ganesh Chaturthi, both the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) will remain closed today. This closure extends to equity, equity derivatives, interest rate derivatives, currency derivatives, and securities lending and borrowing.

Additionally, wholesale commodity markets, including metal and bullion, will be closed from 9 am to 5 pm but will reopen from 5 pm to 11:30/11:55 pm.

On September 18, the Indian benchmark indices experienced a downward trend, with the Sensex falling by 241.79 points or 0.36 percent to close at 67,596.84. Meanwhile, the Nifty ended at 20,133.30, down by 59 points or 0.29 percent.

Among the top losers on the Nifty were Hindalco Industries, Jio Financial, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, and Adani Ports. On the positive side, gainers included Titan Company, M&M, BPCL, HDFC Life, and Power Grid Corporation.

In terms of sectors, the PSU Bank index saw a significant gain of 3.4 percent, while power, auto, and FMCG indices experienced moderate gains ranging from 0.5 to 0.8 percent. However, realty and metal indices both dropped by 1 percent, and bank, IT, pharma, and pharma sectors declined by 0.5 percent each. The BSE midcap index slipped by 0.25 percent, and the Smallcap index was down by 0.5 percent.

Kunal Shah, Senior Technical & Derivative Analyst at LKP Securities, commented on the market’s recent performance, stating, “The Nifty index has been consolidating within a broad range, with notable call writing activity observed at higher levels. This suggests that market participants are cautious and have been selling call options to hedge against potential downward movements. The sideways trend in the index is expected to persist in the upcoming trading sessions. This is attributed to the anticipation of the outcome of the US Federal Reserve (US Fed) meeting, which is a significant event that can impact global financial markets.”

He also added, “The index has support at the 20,100 level and resistance at 20,200. A break on either side of this range is likely to lead to trending moves, with potential implications for market direction.”

Regarding the currency market, the rupee concluded marginally lower at 83.27 per dollar on Monday compared to Friday’s close of 83.18. Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, noted, “Ahead of the holiday, the Indian rupee closed at another record low close following risk-averse sentiments and a rally in crude oil prices. This week will remain highly volatile following a series of central bank policy rate meetings across the developed and emerging market economies. The baseline of it is the dollar to hold onto its strength through the week. In the near term, spot USDINR is expected to cross the record high and may see a level of 83.50 to 83.70 while it could hold the support of 83.”