Sensex falls 250 points, Nifty holds below 22K; small & midcaps under pressure

The broader, more domestically-focussed small- and fell 0.1% and 0.2% respectively. They are down 14.5% and 7.8%, respectively, from the record high levels hit on February 8.

The fall came following concerns raised by India's markets regulator about significant inflows into small- and mid-cap funds.

Among Sensex stocks, , , , and opened with cuts, while , , M&M, and opened with gains.

shares rose 3% after the Defence Ministry signed contracts worth Rs 8,073 crore with the company for the acquisition of 34 advanced light helicopters and associated equipment for the Indian Army.

also traded 3% higher after the company secured orders worth Rs 2,257 crore across various business verticals.

On the sectoral front, Realty fell 1%, dragged by and . Nifty Bank, Financials, IT and FMCG also opened lower.

Experts View
"There is room for the broader market to correct more since the valuations continue to be elevated. Investors should now focus on largecaps and quality midcaps. The turbulence in the market will give cherry picking opportunities," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, .

"From now on irrational exuberance will take a back seat and rational valuations and quality will be the driving force. This turbulence will separate the men from the boys. High-quality private sector banks and the leading names in capital goods, telecom and autos can be accumulated in a calibrated manner," Vijayakumar suggested.

Deven Mehata, Research Analyst at Choice Broking, said, "Nifty can find support at 21,850 followed by 21,800 and 21,700. On the higher side, 22,050 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 22,150 and 22,200."

Global Markets
Asian shares held near seven-month highs on Thursday though traded mostly sideways as investors awaited fresh catalysts that would provide further clarity on the global interest rate easing cycle.

In China, the blue-chip CSI300 Index rose 0.46%, while the Shanghai Composite Index edged 0.25% higher. The Nikkei was meanwhile kept under pressure and eased 0.2%.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq edged lower on Wednesday as investors took profits in chipmaker stocks.

FII/DII Tracker
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold Indian shares worth Rs 4,595 crore, on a net basis on Wednesday. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought Rs 9,094 of stocks.

Oil Gains
Oil extended gains in Asian trade on Thursday after a surprise drop in U.S. crude stockpiles indicated strengthening demand, while possible supply disruptions following Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries also underpinned prices.

Brent futures rose 10 cents, or 0.12%, to $84.13 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 7 cents, or 0.9%, at $79.79 per barrel.

Currency Watch
The Indian rupee fell 5 paise to 82.86 against the US dollar in early trade. The dollar index, which tracks the movement of the greenback against a basket of six major world currencies, rose 0.09% to 102.88 level.

(With inputs from agencies)
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)