The index opened nearly 100 points lower but attempted to recover during the first 45 minutes of trade. However, the recovery lost momentum after 10 am, with the Nifty subsequently falling more than 100 points from its early-session high.
The Nifty 50 declined 65 points, or 0.3%, to close at 24,570 as weak global cues and profit booking following the recent rally weighed on sentiment.
Among Nifty 50 constituents, Grasim, TCS and Hindalco were the top gainers, while Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv and Trent were the biggest laggards.
Sectoral indices ended mixed. Auto, IT and PSU Banks posted the strongest gains, while Financial Services, Private Banks and Chemicals emerged as the top losers.
The broader market also remained mixed, with the Nifty Midcap 100 gaining 0.22%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 slipped 0.05%.
Looking ahead, Indian equities are likely to trade with a positive bias next week, supported by resilient domestic fundamentals, easing geopolitical concerns and continued stock-specific opportunities as the Q1FY27 earnings season enters its final leg, said Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal.
Primary market activity is also expected to remain strong, with five mainboard IPOs — Molbio Diagnostics, Dhoot Transmission, Milky Mist Dairy Food, Shiprocket and Behari Lal Engineering — scheduled to open for subscription next week. The combined issue size of these offerings is around ₹7,479 crore.
Meanwhile, Technocraft Ventures, LEAP India and Ardee Industries are scheduled to list on the stock exchanges, with a combined issue size of around ₹3,158 crore.
Investors will also track a host of domestic and global data points for further cues. Key events include India’s CPI and WPI inflation data, the ongoing Q1FY27 earnings season, US CPI and PPI inflation readings, the OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report, and China’s industrial production and retail sales data.
According to Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities, the underlying trend for the Nifty remains choppy with a weak bias. However, the index is holding above the crucial support zone of 24,400-24,300, which was the previous upside breakout area and is now acting as support based on the change-in-polarity principle.
“Any weakness down to this support could be a buying opportunity,” Shetti said, adding that immediate resistance for a trend reversal is placed around 24,700.
Hitesh Rathi of Angel One said immediate support for the Nifty is placed in the 24,450-24,350 band, followed by stronger support at the psychological level of 24,000. On the upside, resistance is seen at 24,650-24,750, followed by a stronger hurdle in the 24,800-24,850 zone.
Nandish Shah of HDFC Securities said the index has remained in a consolidation phase between 24,400 and 24,700 over the past three trading sessions, forming lower highs and higher lows on a daily basis.
Shah said the primary trend remains bullish as the index continues to trade above all key moving averages. On the upside, 24,770 and 25,000 are likely to act as resistance levels, while the 24,430-24,380 zone may provide support on declines.
Meanwhile, the Nifty Bank opened with a gap-down on Friday and initially attempted to move above the day’s high but failed to sustain gains. The index subsequently drifted lower to an intraday low of 57,698 before witnessing a sharp pullback. Volatility increased after SBI announced its quarterly results.
The index settled at 57,801 at 3:15 pm, while the settlement price after the Closing Auction Session (CAS) came in at 57,746, down 55 points.
Over the past five trading sessions, Bank Nifty has been consolidating within the 58,248-57,353 range. Despite the consolidation, the index has managed to hold above its 20-day EMA.
Going ahead, immediate resistance for Bank Nifty is placed in the 58,200-58,300 zone. A sustained move above this range could extend the pullback towards 58,700, followed by 59,100 in the short term. On the downside, immediate support is seen at 57,300-57,200, said Sudeep Shah of SBI Securities.
