Stock market today: Gift Nifty up 40 pts; key levels to watch for Nifty, Sensex & Nifty Bank

Indian benchmark indices are set to open higher on Friday but the gains are likely to remain capped amid mixed global cues. However, the selling pressure from the FIIs in the last few sessions is weighing on the sentiments at Dalal Street. Traders will be looking at the US debt profile and trade deal with India in the coming days.

Nifty futures on the NSE International Exchange traded 40.30 points, or 0.16 per cent, higher at 24,692.50, hinting at a positive start for the domestic market on Friday. Asian shares made some tentative gains on Friday as beaten-down Treasuries found buyers. Nikkei added 0.75 per cent, while Hang Seng was up 0.35 per cent. KOSPI rose 0.20 per cent in early trade.

Investors shall look forward to the US Manufacturing and Services PMI data to be released later today, said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. "While the global cues are weighing on Indian markets, optimism over the US-India trade settlement and positive domestic macros are likely to keep the markets range-bound," he said.

US stocks closed a choppy session little changed on Thursday, erasing initial declines as Treasury yields eased off recent highs after the House of Representatives passed US President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill. The Dow Jones fell just 1.35 points to 41,859.09, the S&P 500 lost merely 2.60 points to 5,842.01 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 53.09 points, or 0.28 per cent, at 18,925.74.

Oil prices fell for a fourth straight session on the prospects of further output increases by OPEC+ countries. US crude futures dropped 0.7 per cent to $60.76 a barrel and were down 2.7 per cent for the week. Brent fell 0.6 per cent at $64.03 per barrel.

In the currency market, the dollar was on the back foot again and is headed for a weekly drop of 1.2 per cent against its major peers. Bitcoin is set for a weekly gain of 7 per cent at $111,524, having touched a record high of $1,11,965 just on Thursday. In precious metals, gold prices were flat at $3,292 an ounce.

The recent price action indicates that the bulls are making a strong effort to sustain the prevailing uptrend, said Ajit Mishra, SVP of Research at Religare Broking. "Participants are advised to align their positions accordingly, focusing more on stock selection based on relative strength. Dips should be seen as an opportunity to gradually accumulate quality stocks," he said.

Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 5,045.36 crore on Thursday. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned sellers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 3,715 crore on a net-net basis.

Nifty & Sensex outlook

Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities believes that the intraday market texture is on the weaker side, but a fresh selloff is possible only after the dismissal of the 24,450/80450 level or below 20-day SMA. On the higher side, 24,650–24,750/81,100-81.300 would be the key resistance zones for short term traders. Above this, a pullback rally could extend up to 24,850-24,900/81,500-81,800.

The very short-term trend remains weak, and the Nifty may continue to correct as long as it stays below 24,800. Any rise toward this level could attract selling pressure, said  Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities. "On the lower end, support is placed at 24,445; a breakdown below this level could accelerate weakness. On the higher side, if the Nifty moves above 24,650, it may head toward 24,775–24,800," he said.

Nifty Bank outlook

Nifty Bank's inability to hold above these moving averages highlights a frail setup. Unless Bank Nifty reclaims the 9-DEMA and 20- DEMA zone with a strong follow-through, the short-term outlook will likely stay under pressure, said Om Mehra, Technical Research Analyst at SAMCO Securities. The immediate resistance is seen near 55,400, while support rests at 54,500, he said.

Bajaj Broking expects Nifty Bank to extend consolidation in the range of 24,400-25,000 levels in the immediate short term. In the coming session only a move above Thursday high (24737) will signal positive bias and can lead to retest of the 25,000 levels. Key short-term support lies at 24,350-24,400, a confluence zone marked by the prior week's low, it said.