After Tuesday’s sharp sell-off, the index opened on a weak note but witnessed a strong intraday recovery during the first half of trade, climbing to a high of 23,582.
However, the momentum faded in the latter half of the session as renewed selling pressure erased most of the gains.
Among index heavyweights, Asian Paints, Adani Enterprises and Tata Steel emerged as the top gainers on the Nifty, while Eicher Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Infosys were among the top drags.
Sectoral performance remained mixed. Metal, consumer durables and oil & gas stocks led the gains, while IT, auto and realty shares ended under pressure.
Broader markets also participated in the recovery. The Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.77%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index gained 0.31%.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee weakened for a fourth consecutive session and settled at a record low as the US dollar continued to strengthen globally.
Despite the government’s move to increase gold and silver import duties to curb demand, the domestic currency remained under pressure due to persistent foreign capital outflows.
According to Nandish Shah of HDFC Securities, the broader technical structure of the market remains weak despite Wednesday’s pullback rally. Shah said that the Nifty continues to trade below its 10-, 20-, 50-, 100- and 200-day DEMA levels, indicating a bearish bias across timeframes.
He added that the earlier support zone near 23,800 is now likely to act as resistance, while immediate downside support is placed around 23,100.
Rajesh Bhosale of Angel One said a decisive breach below the 23,100 mark could negate the entire April recovery and open the door for deeper downside in the near term.
According to Rupak De of LKP Securities, the 23,500 zone continues to remain a strong resistance area for the index. He added that near-term support is placed in the 23,150-23,200 range.
Sudeep Shah of SBI Securities said immediate support for Nifty is seen in the 23,270-23,250 zone.
A sustained move below these levels could extend the decline towards 23,100 and potentially 22,950 in the short term. On the upside, resistance is seen in the 23,530-23,550 range.
