The US elections in November and the absence of major announcements by the government on the economic front have affected the stock market sentiment. Analysts, despite Thursday’s sharp fall in key benchmark indices , are of the view that no major fall is in the offing. The BSE Sensex fell 2.61 per cent, or 1,066 points, to close at 39,729. The NSE Nifty was down 2.43 per cent, or 290 points, at 11,680. The small- and mid-cap indices have been flat for nearly two weeks now.

“Thursday’s fall in stock markets was more technical. The Nifty index touched 12,000 levels for the first time after Covid-19 fall and it was a crowded street with long positions. It is likely that Nifty may slip back to 11,500 or nearby levels if the fall continues for a day or two. But it does not seem that a market correction could go beyond that,” said Rohit Srivastava, chief strategist, Indiacharts.

In September when the Nifty and the Sensex fell nearly 10 per cent from the previous month’s high levels, the futures open interest had declined by around 40 per cent.

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It indicated that those holding long positions were out of markets and mostly those expecting to profit from further fall stood their ground. This was the point when analysts called a reversal. The Nifty index has gained more than 10 per cent from its September month low levels.

“Stalled vaccine trials and Brexit clouds also played a part in the sentiment weakening. In India, we additionally had reports of an MFI company defaulting on debt-servicing due to internal fraud, and a financial service firm facing forensic audit as directed by the regulator.

“The Nifty after so many attempts has failed to go above the January high of 12,431. A large bear candle at the top could result in more weakness if Nifty does not stop falling in the next 1-2 days. On falls, the Nifty could take support in the 11,522-11,605 band,” said Deepak Jasani, head, retail research, HDFC Securities.

Foreign portfolio investors sold stocks worth ₹604 crore in the cash segment. Thursday’s derivative data has not been put out by the exchanges.

In Europe, the FTSE, Dax and CAC were trading lower by more than 2 per cent as public health restrictions returned across Europe due to a surge in coronavirus infection cases.

The US markets too have been tepid as news reports suggested that further stimulus may not come until November 3 elections.

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