Domestic equities remained under pressure on Monday during the weekly expiry session and ahead of the holiday on Tuesday, with the Nifty slipping below the 24,000 mark amid weak global cues and a sharp rise in crude prices.
The index, however, showed resilience by attempting to fill the recent gap and staged a recovery from intraday lows, eventually settling above 23,800.
It opened sharply lower, down 460 points, after a setback in US-Iran negotiations. Buying interest at lower levels helped the index recover nearly 300 points from the day’s low, ending close to the session’s high.
HDFC Life, Adani Enterprises, and ICICI Bank emerged as the top gainers on the Nifty, while Eicher Motors, Maruti Suzuki, and Bajaj Finance were among the top laggards.
Despite the intraday recovery, all sectoral indices ended in the red, with Nifty Auto, Oil & Gas, and FMCG leading the losses.
Broader markets also remained weak, with the Nifty Midcap 100 declining 0.57% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 falling 0.46%.
The rupee weakened for a third straight session, depreciating 65 paise to 93.38, marking its sharpest fall in two weeks, tracking the surge in crude oil prices amid rising geopolitical tensions.
Market participants are closely tracking global developments, particularly any escalation following the breakdown in US-Iran talks.
Wednesday’s session will see stocks like ICICI Prudential Life, ICICI Prudential AMC, Just Dial react to their quarterly results, while names like LG Electronics India, Bharat Coking Coal, and Rubicon Research see their respective shareholder lock-ins end.
Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities said Monday’s weakness has not disrupted the underlying near-term uptrend. He sees key support at 23,500, with potential for further upside. Immediate resistance is placed at 24,100.
Nilesh Jain of Centrum Finverse said the broader structure remains positive, supporting a buy-on-dips strategy as long as the index holds above its 21-day moving average at 23,270. A decisive move above 24,000 could trigger short covering, potentially pushing the index towards the 24,200-24,400 zone.
Nandish Shah of HDFC Securities noted that the Nifty took support at its 20-day EMA and rebounded over 300 points, indicating underlying strength. The index continues to trade above its 5-day and 20-day EMAs, keeping the short-term trend positive.
He added that the day’s low of 23,555 is likely to act as strong support, while the 24,000-24,075 zone remains a key resistance band.
Bank Nifty also opened gap-down but found support near its 20-day EMA. The index rebounded nearly 1,250 points from the day’s low and ended above the 55,600 mark, though it still closed 0.55% lower.
Sudeep Shah of SBI Securities said the 55,900-56,000 zone will act as a key resistance. A sustained move above 56,000 could extend the pullback towards 56,500 and 57,200, while the 55,100-55,000 zone remains crucial support.
Indian stock markets (BSE and NSE) were closed on Tuesday (April 14) on account of Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti.
