Sensex closes almost flat, Nifty ends above 24,580. What lies ahead?

The Sensex rose over 43 points to close at 78,542, while the Nifty 50 gained around 13 points to end the session at 24,584 on Monday. Broader markets ended mixed, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 falling 0.3%, while the Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.6%.

Titan shares were the top gainers on the Sensex, jumping more than 3%. Bajaj Finance shares gained around 2%, while Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, and Asian Paints shares rose over 1% each. Bucking the trend, SBI shares erased early gains to fall more than 2%. Bharti Airtel [Note: corrected from ‘Eternal’], NTPC, and ITC shares followed, dropping 1–2%.

Among sectors, the Nifty Realty and Nifty Financial Services (excluding banks) indices gained more than 1% each to lead the advances, while the Nifty PSU Bank index dropped around 2%. Overall market breadth was slightly positive, with the NSE recording 1,739 advances and 1,703 declines, while 118 stocks remained unchanged.

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What lies ahead for Dalal Street?

Markets remained on a tight leash as uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz continued to temper risk appetite, even as encouraging corporate earnings lent support to broader sentiment, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments.Globally, softer-than-expected US jobs data weakened the case for Fed tightening, shifting investor focus to upcoming US inflation readings for fresh direction on rates and bond yields, the analyst noted, adding that a softer yield environment could revive interest in emerging markets and pave the way for stronger FII participation.

“Amid these global crosscurrents, India’s robust domestic growth engines and resilient economic fundamentals continue to stand out, providing a strong anchor for investor confidence,” Nair added.

Technical view on Nifty

While the fundamental view remains slightly bullish, the technical charts warrant caution. Friday’s failure to attract enough bearish momentum, has reduced Nifty’s chances of an outright fall to 24,400 or to confirm a bearish trend reversal, said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Investments.

He however noted that the oscillators continue to paint a consolidation picture within the 24,400-24,775 band with 24,570-24,500 emerging as a support band while 24,650-24,690-24,730 pose as upside challenge points.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)