Sensex rises 152 points, Nifty closes above 24,600 as market trims gains. What lies ahead?

Indian stock market closed in the green on Wednesday, with the Sensex and Nifty ending higher after recording sharp upswings and downswings amid confusion around the newly introduced closing auction session (CAS).

The Sensex rose 152 points to close at 78,581, while the Nifty 50 gained around 10 points to end the session at 24,625 on Wednesday. This came as India VIX, which measures volatility in the market, dropped 1.5% to 12.

UltraTech Cement shares gained more than 2% to lead gains on the Sensex, while NTPC, SBI, and M&M shares rose nearly 2% each. IndiGo, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Trent, and L&T shares rose over 1% each. On the other hand, TCS and HCL Tech shares fell more than 1% each to lead losses on the benchmark index.


The broader market also closed in the green, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 index rising 0.8% and the Nifty Midcap 100 index gaining 0.2%. Among sectors, Nifty Metal surged nearly 2%, while Nifty Auto gained more than 1%.

What lies ahead for Dalal Street?

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) MPC maintained the status quo while marginally upgrading the FY27 GDP growth projection, citing a resilient domestic economy. Additionally, annual inflation estimates were lowered, indicating the governor’s open-minded approach, which suggested an optimistic view though further policy action would depend on data, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments.

Consequently, a rise in crude prices, following renewed concerns over escalating tensions in West Asia, led Indian markets, which had opened strongly, to gradually move lower during the course of the session, the analyst noted.

Defying the broader market trend, realty and auto stocks outperformed on strong demand expectations ahead of the festive season and supportive financing conditions, while metal stocks gained on the back of an improved GDP growth outlook and robust domestic demand, Nair further said.

Technical view on Nifty

The Nifty remained range-bound throughout the session as traders largely stayed on the sidelines following the interest rate announcement and the release of economic projections, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities. On the downside, 24,500 acted as a key support level, while the index failed to sustain above 24,700 during the day, he added.

“In the short term, we expect the Nifty to remain largely range-bound. Immediate support is placed at 24,400, while 24,800 remains the crucial resistance level. A decisive move above 24,800 could trigger a meaningful rally in the index,” the analyst said.

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