The benchmark Nifty50 closed lower for the seventh straight session on Thursday, dimming hopes of a recovery led by losses in IT, auto and capital goods stocks. The short term outlook for Nifty is weak with range bound movement, say analysts. Meanwhile, Sensex ended marginally higher for the second straight session, capping losses of investors.
In the current session, Sensex gained 10 pts to 74,612 and Nifty slipped 2.5 pts to 22,545. Nifty closed at a nine-month low today, its lowest level since the close of 21,884 on June 4.
Weak global cues, lacklustre Q3 earnings season, rising concerns over US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff threats and persistent selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have worried investors this year.
Amid the ongoing correction, Sensex is down 4.51% and Nifty has lost 4.65% in 2025.
In the current session, investor wealth slipped by Rs 3.38 lakh crore to Rs 393.10 lakh crore. The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms stood at Rs 396.48 lakh crore on February 25.
Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities said, "A small negative candle was formed on the daily chart with minor upper and lower shadow. Technically, this market action signals a formation of high wave type candle pattern at the swing klows. Having formed this amid range movement hence the predictability of the pattern could be less. The short-term trend of Nifty continues to be weak with range-bound movement. Nifty is expected to slide down to the immediate support of around 22,400 levels (20-month EMA) in the short term. Immediate resistance is placed at 22,625 levels."
Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities said, "We believe that 22600/74800 will serve as a key resistance zone for short-term traders; above this level, a pullback could continue up to 22700-22800/75000-75300. Conversely, a fresh sell-off is likely only after a breach of 22500/74500; below this level, the market could slide down to 22400-22350/74200-74000."
Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research, HDFC Securities said, "Nifty is in continuation of a downtrend and next support is seen at 22,450, which happens to 76.4% retracement of the upswing seen from 21281(June 2024 Bottom) to 26277(All Time High Made in Sep 2024). On the upside 22700-22800 band could offer resistance."
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said, "Nifty remained range bound during the day before closing flat. Sellers continued to dominate the market at higher levels. On the lower end, 22,500 continues to act as support, similar to how 22,800 did a few days ago. We expect Nifty to decline towards 22,200 and lower if it falls below 22,500. On the higher end, 22,650 might act as immediate resistance. In the short term, the index is likely to remain a "sell on rise" as long as it stays below the 22,750-22,800 range."