The Nifty opened on a firm note and extended gains in early trade, but failed to sustain momentum after approaching the key resistance zone around 24,500, which coincides with its 200-day exponential moving average (EMA) and the March 9 downside gap.
Selling pressure intensified during the second half of the session, particularly in the penultimate hour, erasing intraday gains and dragging the benchmark into negative territory.
The Nifty 50 eventually settled 31 points, or 0.1%, lower at 24,399, although it managed to hold above the 24,400 mark for most of the session.
Among the Nifty constituents, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and Infosys emerged as the top gainers, while Trent and Adani Enterprises led the losses.
On the sectoral front, Nifty IT and Nifty Consumer Durables outperformed, whereas Nifty Realty and Nifty Metal were the biggest laggards.
The broader market also witnessed profit booking, with both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices ending lower.
Market outlook
Indian equities are expected to retain a constructive medium-term bias, although near-term volatility may persist. Investors will closely track June-quarter business updates, developments around the proposed India-US interim trade agreement, and the progress of the southwest monsoon.
Globally, attention will shift to the release of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes on Wednesday and the weekly US initial jobless claims data later this week for cues on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate trajectory.
Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities said the underlying short-term trend remains choppy with a slightly negative bias.
According to Shetti, after encountering resistance near the 24,500 level, the Nifty could witness further consolidation or a mild pullback over the next one to two sessions before attempting another rebound. Immediate support is placed at 24,200.
Rupak De of LKP Securities said the index faced resistance near a recent swing high, resulting in intraday weakness.
He expects immediate support at 24,300, adding that a breach below this level could weaken the near-term trend. On the upside, a sustained move above 24,400 could help the index regain upward momentum.
Osho Krishan of Angel One expects the 24,300-24,250 zone to act as a strong support area capable of absorbing near-term declines. On the upside, the 24,500-24,600 range remains the key resistance zone that the index needs to decisively cross to extend its rally.
