The Indian stock market opened on a muted note on Wednesday, weighed down by mixed global cues and prevailing geopolitical tensions. Early trade witnessed selling pressure in PSU bank and financial services sectors.
As of 9:32 AM, the Sensex was down 7.72 points, or 0.01%, at 80,280.66. Meanwhile, the Nifty was marginally up by 1 point at 24,336.95.
The Nifty Bank index slipped 197.50 points, or 0.36%, to 55,193.75. The Nifty Midcap 100 declined by 231.95 points, or 0.42%, to 54,356.00, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 dropped 136.30 points, or 0.81%, to 16,602.40.
According to market analysts, Nifty may find immediate support at 24,200, followed by 24,100 and 24,000 levels. On the upside, resistance is expected at 24,400, with further hurdles at 24,500 and 24,700.
Commenting on the Bank Nifty’s technical outlook, Hardik Matalia of Choice Broking said, “The index is likely to get support at 55,000, followed by 54,700 and 54,400. On the upside, 55,600 is the first resistance, followed by 55,900 and 56,200.”
Despite a positive opening, the Sensex struggled to hold momentum, hovering near the 80,300 mark. Analysts remain cautiously optimistic about its direction.
“The index needs a decisive break above the resistance zone at 80,400 to confirm a breakout, with the 200-period moving average support positioned near 79,100, which must hold,” said Vaishali Parekh, Vice President – Technical Research, PL Capital Group.
She added that Nifty’s support for the day lies at 24,200, while resistance is pegged at 24,500.
In terms of stock performance, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Eternal, SBI, and Tata Steel were among the top losers on the Sensex. On the flip side, HDFC Bank, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, and Hindustan Unilever were the top gainers.
Across Asian markets, China and Seoul traded in the red, while Bangkok, Jakarta, Hong Kong, and Japan were in positive territory.
In the U.S., the previous session saw gains across major indices. The Dow Jones closed 0.75% higher at 40,527.62, the S&P 500 rose 0.58% to 5,560.83, and the Nasdaq climbed 0.55% to 17,461.32.
On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their buying streak for the tenth consecutive session, recording inflows of ₹2,385.61 crore on April 29. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were also net buyers for the third session in a row, with inflows of ₹1,369.19 crore.
— IANS
