Nifty and Sensex swing wildly as bears dominate volatile session

The stock market witnessed a fierce battle between bulls and bears in Tuesday's highly volatile session, with the latter ultimately taking control. The Nifty opened flat at 24,956 but quickly faced selling pressure, plunging to an intraday low of 24,737. Just as the bears seemed dominant, the index staged a sharp rebound, surging to a day's high of 25,062. However, the second half saw another wave of profit booking, erasing all gains and dragging the Nifty to a fresh low of 24,704 before closing near the day's lowest level. The Nifty settled at 24,826, down 175 points (0.70%)
The Sensex mirrored the turbulence, opening at 82,038 (against the previous close of 82,176). It tumbled nearly 900 points early but recovered by mid-morning, climbing to 82,411. Yet, the rally faltered, and the index plummeted to 81,121.70 before settling at 81,551.63, down 624.82 points (0.76%). The session highlighted intense volatility as investors grappled with shifting momentum.
'All in all, today's session was a classic example of indecision, with bulls and bears both making bold attempts,' said Sundar Kewat, Technical and Derivatives Analyst, Ashika Institutional Equity.
He highlighted that options data shows the highest Call OI at the 25,000 strike, suggesting it may act as a stiff resistance, while the Put OI is heaviest at 24,000, indicating a possible support zone. The Put-Call Ratio (PCR) stands at 0.81, reflecting a cautious undertone in the market.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, said that investors opted for profit booking driven by valuation concerns and weakness across Asian markets. 'The benchmark index once again failed to decisively breach the 25k resistance level, reflecting the absence of positive triggers. Large-cap stocks underperformed, weighed down by subdued FII participation and lacklustre earnings from blue-chip companies,' stated Nair.
Amid the turbulence, mid and small-cap segments outperformed, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Small cap 100 indices advancing 0.15% and 0.1%, respectively underscoring relative strength in the broader market. On the sectoral front, the NSE indices traded predominantly in the red, with Nifty FMCG, IT, and Auto leading the laggards, each declining around 1%. Banking and financials also came under pressure, as the Nifty Bank and Nifty Private Bank indices slipped close to 0.5%.

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FATF links dual-use equipment seized by India to Pakistan's missile programme

A dual use equipment seized by India from a Pakistan bound merchant vessel in 2020 is linked to Islamabad's National Development Complex that is involved in the country's missile development programme, a new report by the Financial Action Task Force has said. read more India's 2020 seizure of Pakistan-bound dual-use equipment has been linked to Islamabad's missile development programme, according to a new report by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The equipment, intercepted from a merchant vessel is associated with Pakistan's National Development Complex, a key entity involved in the country's missile development. FATF, the global financial watchdog, referenced the case in its latest report, which outlines risks and vulnerabilities in the international financial and trade systems. The incident was cited under a section highlighting the misuse of the maritime and shipping sectors to move sensitive goods, including dual-use items that can be repurposed for weapons programmes. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'In 2020, Indian custom authorities seized an Asian-flagged ship bound for Pakistan. During an investigation, Indian authorities confirmed that documents mis-declared the shipment's dual-use items,' the FATF report said. 'Indian investigators certified the items for shipment to be 'Autoclaves', which are used for sensitive high energy materials and for insulation and chemical coating of missile motors,' the report said. It said these sensitive items are included in dual-use export control lists of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). The bill of lading of the seized cargo provided evidence of the 'link between the importer and the National Development Complex, which is involved in the development of long-range ballistic missiles,' it said. The export of equipment such as the autoclaves without formal approval from various authorities is a violation of existing law, the FATF said. Pakistan's National Development Complex (NDC) has played a crucial role in the development of Pakistan's missile programme. India had seized the dual-use equipment from merchant vessel Da Cui Yun at Kandla port in Gujarat on February 3, 2020. The Indian customs authorities had stopped the vessel for wrongly declaring an autoclave, which can be used in construction of missiles, as an 'industrial dryer'. The report said that significant vulnerabilities remain across the global financial system in countering the financing of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Despite the grave threat posed by proliferation financing (PF), only 16 per cent of countries assessed by the FATF and its global network have demonstrated high or substantial effectiveness' in a process that evaluates the implementation of targeted financial sanctions under the United Nations Security Council resolutions on proliferation. The report said that unless the public and private sectors urgently bolster technical compliance and effectiveness, those seeking to finance WMD proliferation will continue to exploit weaknesses in existing controls. The report provided a detailed analysis of the evolving methods and techniques used to evade PF-related sanctions. 'Illicit actors are employing increasingly sophisticated methods to evade sanctions and circumvent export controls,' it said. With inputs from agencies