Indian Markets Rebound After Four-Day Slump
India's benchmark stock indices, the Sensex and Nifty, concluded Friday's trading session in the green, snapping a four-day losing streak. The Sensex climbed 363 points to close at 76,515, while the Nifty gained 24 points, settling at 23,897.
Key heavyweights like Reliance Industries (RIL), Tata Steel, and Bajaj Finance were among the top contributors to the market's positive momentum, boosting overall investor sentiment.
Weekly Performance and Top Movers
Despite Friday's gains, the broader market still registered a weekly decline. The Sensex fell 0.47% or 362 points over the previous four sessions, and the Nifty slipped 0.61% or 147 points during the week.
Beyond the major drivers, other top Sensex gainers included Trent, Adani Ports, HDFC Bank, and Kotak Bank, with some stocks rising up to 2.91%. Conversely, Bharti Airtel and HCL Technologies were among the top Sensex losers, experiencing declines of up to 1.24%.
Global Cues Boost Sentiment
The domestic market's recovery was significantly bolstered by positive global cues. Crude oil prices remained stable at around $95 per barrel amidst geopolitical reports. Globally, equities saw gains, and emerging-market currencies strengthened against the US dollar as concerns about a potential US interest rate hike began to recede.
Wall Street rallied on Thursday after US Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller indicated support for maintaining the Fed funds target rate if inflation data showed a downward trend. Asian markets also closed higher, with Japan's Nikkei zooming 842 points to 65,057, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rising 442 points to 25,656, and South Korea's Kospi increasing 107 points to 6687. Overnight, US markets saw strong closes, with the NASDAQ surging 366 points to 26,584, the S&P 500 adding 81 points to 7747, and the Dow Jones index climbing 624 points to 53,686.
Expert Outlook on Market Levels
Amol Athawale, VP Technical Research at Kotak Securities, noted that while the market breached crucial support zones earlier in the week, it showed a promising recovery. He suggested that if the market sustains above the 24,000/76800 mark, a pullback could continue towards 24,200/77400 and potentially 24,350/77800. Conversely, a fall below 23,800/76100 could accelerate selling pressure, retesting the 23,600-23,500/75500-75200 zone.
Sudeep Shah, Head - Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, identified the 23750–23700 zone as a crucial support area for the Nifty, with a breach potentially leading to 23600–23570. On the upside, 24050–24080 is an immediate hurdle, with a sustained move above it possibly triggering a pullback to 24200 levels.
For Bank Nifty, Shah expects the 56900–56800 zone to act as crucial support, maintaining a consolidation phase if held. A decisive breakout above 57800–57900 or a breakdown below 56800 could signal the end of the current consolidation and trigger a significant directional move.
Previous Trading Session
In the preceding session on Thursday, both Sensex and Nifty had closed lower. The Sensex fell 417 points to 76,152, and the NSE Nifty 50 settled at 23,873.45, down 41 points or 0.17 percent.