USDINR spot closed 18 paise higher at 75.08, on the back of rising oil prices and demand for dollar from PSUs.
However, a sharp surge in the select banking majors, thanks to encouraging earnings by the ICICI Bank, not only capped the downside but also helped the index to pare the losses.
We expect the banking pack to remain in focus as Axis Bank and Kotak Bank will report their numbers on October 26.
In the latter half, we saw some buying interest at lower levels forming a long lower shadow on the daily chart.
Markets were volatile and non-directional intra-day but Nifty found support near 18000, which helped indices to reverse losses.
Once again, 18050 could act as a sacrosanct support level for the day traders, and above the same we can expect an extension of a pull back rally up to 18250-18310.
Market opened weak, however strong support from banking stocks helped to balance the bearish pressure and lifted the indices to trade on a flat note.
The gold bonds by the government have been a big success, as the government has raised over Rs 32,000 crores since its inception in 2015.
The gold prices have strengthened despite a rise in the US bond yield and its impact on the USD.
ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, ONGC, JSW Steel and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories were among the major Nifty gainers.
On the sectoral front, except bank, all other sectoral indices ended in the red with auto, FMCG, IT and realty indices were down 1-2 percent.