Stock market today: Gift Nifty up 22 pts; key levels to watch for Nifty, Sensex & Nifty Bank

Indian benchmark indices set to open on a flat note or marginally higher on Wednesday amid mixed global cues. Traders keenly await clarity on US-China trade talks and loggerheads between Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Besides that, inflation data from the US and Indian market shall also be watched by the traders at Dalal Street.

Nifty futures on the NSE International Exchange traded 21.90 points, or 0.09 per cent, higher at 25,182.50, hinting at a flat start for the domestic market on Wednesday. Asian stocks were mostly up on Wednesday. South Korean KOSPI and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added two-third to three-fourth of a per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.35 per cent in early trade.

Participants remained slightly cautious amid mixed global cues, and the divergent trend among index heavyweights continues to weigh on overall sentiment, said Ajit Mishra, SVP of Research at Religare Broking. “We maintain our positive outlook and suggest adopting a ‘buy on dips’ approach, with a strong emphasis on stock selection,” he said.

US stocks ended higher on Tuesday, lifted by a rally in Tesla as investors bet on positive results from US-China trade talks. The S&P 500 climbed 0.55 per cent to end the session at 6,038.81 points. The Nasdaq gained 0.63 per cent to 19,714.99 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.25 per cent to 42,866.87 points.

The reaction in currency markets was equally restrained, with the dollar index holding steady at 98.971. In commodity markets, gold edged up 0.3 per cent to $3,333 an ounce. Oil prices eased back from near seven-week highs ahead of US inventory data. Brent dropped 31 cents to $66.56 a barrel, while US crude eased 28 cents to $64.71 per barrel.

Investors will be closely watching Trump’s speech on Tuesday and the US inflation report due on Wednesday and India CPI due on Thursday, for further direction, said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. “Looking ahead, we expect markets to continue to consolidate and remain range-bound with a positive bias,” he said.

Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 2,301.877 crore on Tuesday. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) remained buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 1,113.34 crore on a net-net basis.
 

Nifty and Sensex outlook

The Nifty has sustained above the previous consolidation zone on the daily timeframe, indicating a continuation of the uptrend, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities. “This positive sentiment is likely to persist and the sentiment favours long trades as long as the index remains above the key support level of 24,850,” he said.

The market has been witnessing narrow range activity over the last two days. Key support zones for traders include 25,000/82,000 and 25,050/82,100, while 25,150/82,400-25,200/82,600 would act as a key resistance area for the bulls, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research at Kotak Securities.
 

Nifty Bank Outlook

Nifty Bank has formed a bear candle signaling profit booking after recent strong up move. It has recently generated a breakout above the upper band of the last 6 weeks range, said Bajaj Broking. “We expect the index to maintain positive bias and head higher towards 57,300 and 57,700 levels in the near term,” it said.

Nifty Bank witnessed mild profit booking at higher levels. It formed a second consecutive small-bodied red candle, reflecting short-term hesitation after the recent sharp up move, said Om Mehra, Technical Research Analyst at SAMCO Securities. “It holds firmly above all key moving averages, which keeps the broader trend supportive. The overall trend remains neutral to bullish.”