In a volatile trading session, the benchmark indices ended Thursday's session in the red. The NSE Nifty 50 dropped 51.8 points or 0.28% to close at 18,129.95, while the BSE Sensex dipped 128 points or 0.21% to 61,431.74. Notably, Bank Nifty bucked the trend and rose by 53.6 points or 0.12% to reach 43,752.3.
The sectoral indices displayed mixed performance, with Nifty Auto falling by 0.88%, Nifty FMCG tanking by 1.10%, Nifty Pharma plunging by 1.27%, Nifty PSU Bank tumbling by 1.90%, Nifty Oil & Gas decreasing by 1.10%, and Nifty Realty experiencing a significant decline of 2.37%. Meanwhile, the top gainers on Nifty 50 included Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, and HCL Technologies, while Divis Lab, Adani Ports, ITC, SBIN, and Power Grid faced losses.
The market witnessed volatility on the weekly expiry day, leading to a marginal decline. Ajit Mishra, VP - Technical Research at Religare Broking Ltd, noted that while consolidation is currently healthy, the volatility across sectors is keeping traders cautious. He advised staying light and using this phase to gradually accumulate quality stocks from top-performing sectors such as banking, financials, FMCG, and auto.
Experts have provided insights into the expected movements of NSE Nifty 50 and Bank Nifty. Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, highlighted that Nifty is likely to face a stiff resistance between 18,300 and 18,350. On the downside, it is approaching a crucial support level of 18,079, coinciding with the 20-day moving average, and further support lies at the psychological level of 18,000. Gedia suggested that stock-specific actions could unfold in the coming trading sessions and revised the outlook to sideways, with a consolidation range of 18,400-18,000.
Mitesh Karwa, Research Analyst at Bonanza Portfolio Ltd, observed that Bank Nifty has been trading with a sideways to negative trend but continues to demonstrate a bullish undertone as long as it holds above the levels of 43,500. Support levels for Bank Nifty are placed at 43,700, 43,500, and 43,000, while resistance levels are expected at 43,850, 44,000, and 44,200. Karwa highlighted the strength shown by the technical indicator RSI, which sustains above 50 levels.
As the share market enters a consolidation phase, investors and traders remain watchful of the key support and resistance levels, closely monitoring sector-specific movements for potential opportunities.
