Indian benchmark indices ended lower on Wednesday as persistent selling pressure and profit booking kept investors cautious amid ongoing earnings season and global uncertainties.
Analysts believe the Nifty 50 remains at a crucial technical juncture, with the 23,750-23,800 zone emerging as immediate support. A decisive breach below this range could accelerate the decline towards 23,645 and even 23,500, while the 24,000-24,100 region is expected to act as a strong resistance.
Nandish Shah, Deputy Vice President at HDFC Securities, said the index has turned technically weak after slipping below multiple key moving averages.
"Technically, Nifty has fallen below its 20-, 50-, 100- and 200-day DEMAs, pointing to weakness across time frames. Even so, it remains above the key support zone of 23,750-23,800," Shah added.
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, said the market attempted to recover after a gap-down opening but failed to sustain gains as sellers remained active at higher levels. On the upside, any recovery is likely to face stiff resistance near the 24,000-24,100 mark.
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From a fundamental perspective, market participants are expected to remain focused on a host of domestic and global cues.
Sunny Agrawal, Head of Fundamental Research at SBI Securities, said developments surrounding the US-Iran conflict, crude oil price movements, foreign institutional investor (FII) flows, global macroeconomic data and management commentary during the ongoing earnings season will remain the key drivers of market direction in the near term.
Bank Nifty Outlook
Bank Nifty extended its losing streak for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, forming a bearish candle with a lower high and lower low, signalling that the ongoing corrective phase remains intact. Despite the recent weakness, Bajaj Broking believes the index continues to trade within a broader consolidation range of 56,500-58,700 that has held over the past six weeks. The index is now hovering near the lower end of this range, making the next few sessions crucial for determining its near-term direction.
The 56,200-56,500 zone is a key support area as it coincides with both the lower boundary of the six-week consolidation range and the 52-week exponential moving average (EMA). A decisive breach below this support band could intensify selling pressure, dragging Bank Nifty towards the 55,500-55,000 region, the brokerage added.
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