The index opened 46 points higher and climbed to an intraday high of 24,134 within the first 90 minutes of trade. It then traded in a narrow range for much of the session before profit booking in the final hour erased more than 150 points from the day’s high. Despite the late pullback, the Nifty ended the session in positive territory.
Among the Nifty 50 constituents, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel and Bajaj Finserv emerged as the top gainers, while Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Maruti Suzuki and ONGC ended as the biggest losers.
Sectoral performance remained broadly positive, with all indices ending higher except Nifty IT and Nifty Auto. Realty, Media, Consumer Durables and PSU Banks led the gains.
The broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 advancing 1.4% and 1.8%, respectively.
The Indian rupee also strengthened, appreciating 16 paise against the US dollar to ₹95.39, supported by RBI intervention, a weaker dollar index and the recovery in domestic equities.
Despite persistent geopolitical tensions in West Asia and global market volatility, Indian equities showed resilience during the session, aided by strong domestic fundamentals.
Going forward, investors will closely monitor the market’s reaction to Tata Consultancy Services’ (TCS) June-quarter earnings. The IT major reported results broadly in line with the Street’s muted expectations after market hours.
From a technical perspective, Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities said the Nifty has witnessed a rebound from the key support zone around 23,800. According to him, a sustained move above the 24,200-24,300 zone could trigger fresh short covering.
Nandish Shah of HDFC Securities said the 23,800 level remains crucial for maintaining the bullish bias. He added that the index needs to decisively cross 24,200 to improve the near-term technical outlook.
Osho Krishan of Angel One expects the 23,880-23,800 zone to act as an important support area. A break below this range could weaken sentiment and open the door for a decline towards 23,650, potentially filling the recent bullish gap. On the upside, he sees the 100-day exponential moving average (DEMA) around 24,100-24,140 as a key resistance zone.
According to Rupak De of LKP Securities, overall market sentiment could improve significantly if the Nifty sustains above the 24,000 mark. He sees immediate resistance at 24,200, followed by 24,400, while support is placed at 23,900 and 23,800.
