Indian benchmarks slip as profit booking and sectoral selling weigh on markets
The Sensex and Nifty fell modestly on November 12 after reaching eight-month highs, with profit taking and weakness in IT and pharma stocks driving the decline.
Indian equity benchmarks retreated on November 12 after earlier hitting eight-month highs. At 12:12 pm, the Sensex was down 42.59 points, or 0.05%, at 81,836.81, while the Nifty fell 23.75 points, or 0.09%, to 25,231.30. About 2,249 stocks advanced, 1,647 declined and 175 were unchanged.
Non-banking financial companies led gains in the Nifty 50, with HDFC Life, SBI Life, Shriram Finance, Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance each up 2-3%. The sector index, Nifty Financial Services, rose more than 1% after the Life Insurance Council reported a 26.2% year-on-year increase in first-year premium income for October. Banking stocks also supported the market, as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and State Bank of India gained 0.5-1.5% and the Nifty Bank index rose 0.6%.
Conversely, Nestle India was the top laggard, down nearly 2%, while Bharti Airtel and Mahindra & Mahindra each slipped about 1%, limiting broader gains. Larsen & Toubro fell 0.5%.
Analysts attributed the pullback to profit booking after the indices surged earlier in the day. "Despite Wednesday's positive close, rejection from higher levels indicates some near-term profit booking," said Hitesh Tailor, technical research analyst at Choice Broking. He added that the overall market structure remains positive, supported by foreign portfolio investment and strong banking stocks.
Selling pressure in information technology and pharmaceutical stocks also contributed to the red turn. Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies and Infosys each declined around 1%.
Technical analysts highlighted key support and resistance levels. Gaurav Udani, founder of Thincredblu Securities, noted that the immediate support zone lies at 25,150-25,200, with resistance near 25,500-25,600, and cautioned that volatility could rise ahead of the Sensex weekly expiry. Pabitro Mukherjee of Bajaj Broking identified short-term support around 24,000-24,300 and suggested that dips could be buying opportunities if the index holds above these levels. Other analysts mentioned support bands near 25,050-25,100 and 24,850-24,750, and warned that a break below 25,200 could trigger further intraday profit taking.