Trading remained subdued through the day as investors awaited the Reserve Bank of India‘s (RBI) policy decision and fresh macroeconomic projections.
Among the Nifty 50 constituents, Shriram Finance, Grasim and JSW Steel emerged as the top gainers, while TCS, Apollo Hospitals and HCLTech were the biggest drags.
Sectoral performance remained mixed. Metal, Auto and Realty indices led the gains, while Media, Private Banks and FMCG ended in the red.
Broader markets outperformed the benchmark, with the Nifty Midcap 100 advancing 0.18% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 rising 0.76%.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee pared early gains to settle 26 paise stronger at 95.12 against the US dollar. The currency came off its intraday highs as a stronger dollar and a rebound in crude oil prices offset support from the RBI’s unchanged policy stance.
What to watch on Thursday
Market participants are expected to remain focused on the ongoing Q1FY27 earnings season, with heavyweight companies including Trent, Siemens Energy India, LIC, Hero MotoCorp, Britannia Industries, Lupin, Samvardhana Motherson International, Premier Energies, Fortis Healthcare and Apollo Tyres scheduled to report results.
Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal said Indian equities are likely to maintain a positive bias, supported by Brent crude hovering around $80.5 per barrel, which could improve the outlook for inflation and corporate margins. However, he expects stock-specific action to dominate as the earnings season progresses.
Investors will also keep an eye on developments in West Asia after US President Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz could reopen soon while warning of a strong response if disruptions continue.
Technical outlook
According to Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities, the near-term trend for the Nifty remains positive. He expects resistance around the 24,800 level, while the 24,400-24,300 zone is likely to provide immediate support on any decline.
Rupak De of LKP Securities also expects the index to remain range-bound in the near term, with support at 24,400 and resistance at 24,800. A decisive move above 24,800, he said, could trigger the next leg of the rally.
Nandish Shah of HDFC Securities noted that the Nifty continues to trade above all its key moving averages, indicating that the broader bullish trend remains intact.
He sees immediate resistance near 24,770, with a breakout potentially opening the door to 24,900-25,000. On the downside, support is placed around 24,377, below which the index could consolidate towards 24,200.
For Bank Nifty, the index failed to sustain above the 57,900 zone during the session and settled at 57,740 after the closing auction.
Sudeep Shah of SBI Securities expects immediate resistance in the 58,100-58,200 range. A sustained move above this zone could pave the way for 58,600 and 59,000, while support is seen at 57,400-57,300.
