Mr. Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities
Nifty snapped a two day fall and ended in the positive on Aug 23 after a volatile session. Nifty opened lower but soon started to rise. After seeing alternate bouts of buying and selling Nifty finally closed 0.50% or 86.8 points higher at 17577.5. Nifty was one of the few Asian indices that ended in the positive.
Among sectors, Metals, Consumer Durables and Auto indices rose the most while IT index led the losers. Midcap and smallcap indices outperformed the Nifty rising 0.78-1.03% even as the advance decline ratio jumped to 2.07:1.
Asian shares were trading largely lower Tuesday, echoing a broad sell-off on Wall Street amid speculation about another interest rate raise from the U.S. Federal Reserve. European stock markets traded in a mixed fashion Tuesday following the release of key economic activity data, but the overall tone remains one of caution given concerns of red-hot inflation, soaring gas prices and slowing growth. S&P's composite purchasing managers indices for Germany and France fell to 47.6 and 49.8, respectively, both below the 50 level that typically separates growth from contraction. That was a 26-month low for Germany and an 18-month low for France.
Nifty bounced up after a two day fall, however action was more concentrated in the broader markets. 17390-17690 could be the range for Nifty in the near term.