After opening in positive territory, the Nifty remained firmly in the green for most of the day, extending Friday’s breakout above the crucial 24,200 level.
The benchmark settled 159 points, or 0.66%, higher at 24,430, comfortably reclaiming the 24,400 mark.
Among the Nifty50 constituents, HDFC Bank and Hindalco Industries emerged as the top gainers, while Kotak Mahindra Bank and Max Healthcare ended as the biggest laggards.
Sectorally, Nifty Realty, Consumer Durables and Auto led the gains, whereas Nifty Media and PSU Bank were the only notable underperformers.
The broader market also participated in the rally, with both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices ending in positive territory.
Market outlook
Analysts expect Indian equities to maintain their positive momentum, supported by stable crude oil prices, a steady rupee and encouraging June quarter business updates, particularly from banks and financial companies.
Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal said attractive valuations, resilient domestic macroeconomic fundamentals and the onset of the earnings season are likely to drive stock- and sector-specific opportunities.
From a technical standpoint, Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities said the Nifty’s move above the 24,400-24,500 zone could mark a decisive breakout from its prolonged consolidation range.
He expects the index to advance towards 25,150 in the near term, with immediate support placed at 24,300.
Sudeep Shah of SBI Securities said the next key resistance lies in the 24,570-24,600 zone, which coincides with the previous swing high. A sustained move above 24,600 could pave the way for further gains towards 24,750 and subsequently 24,900. He sees immediate support in the 24,280-24,300 range.
Osho Krishan of Angel One said the Nifty is approaching a crucial technical inflection point near its 200-day exponential moving average.
Krishan said that a decisive breakout above this level could lift the index towards 24,565, followed by 24,750. On the downside, he expects the 24,250-24,300 zone to provide strong support.
Rupak De of LKP Securities said the benchmark has strengthened its technical setup after closing above the 50-week exponential moving average for the first time in over four months. He expects the uptrend to continue towards 24,800, while placing immediate support at 24,300.
