Sensex flat, Nifty holds 25,450; what's next for stock market?

Domestic equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty gave up their early gains to close flat on Thursday, dragged by selling pressure in heavyweight stocks such as Trent, Eternal and Power Grid, which offset gains in BEL and Adani Ports.

At the close, the Sensex declined 27.46 points, or 0.03 per cent, to settle at 82,248.61. The Nifty edged up 14.05 points, or 0.06 per cent, to close at 25,496.55.

The 50-pack index traded in a tight and volatile range, remaining firmly above the critical 25,400 support level while facing resistance in the 25,570-25,600 range, said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money.

“The broader 25,650–25,750 band continues to act as a significant supply area, aligning with short-term moving averages and capping upside attempts. Throughout the session, the index largely oscillated between 25,400 and 25,460, underscoring a phase of consolidation,” Ponmudi said. 

Top gainers & losers

Among Sensex constituents, Bharat Electronics (BEL) emerged as top gainer, rising 2.21% to Rs 449. Sun Pharma followed with a 1.34% gain, while Adani Ports, Maruti Suzuki, Bharti Airtel, and State Bank of India rose 1.23%, 1.02%, 0.78% and 0.75%, respectively. 

While Trent, Eternal and Power Grid were top losers on the Sensex, falling up to 1.61% today.

Five stocks, namely HDFC Bank, Eternal, Axis Bank, Power Grid Corporation of India, and Trent, contributed heavily to the Sensex’s decline.  

The domestic market lost its early gains due to mixed global cues and increased caution ahead of the US-Iran nuclear talks, as well as key data releases such as US initial jobless claims and India's GDP print, which triggered profit booking, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.

Among sectoral indices, the BSE Oil & Gas index jumped 1.03% to close at 29,602.43, while the BSE Utilities declined 0.35% to settle at 5,429.11.

In the BSE 100 index, shares of Bajaj Auto, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Cummins India, Eicher Motors, Federal Bank, Indian Oil Corporation, Lupin, Shriram Finance and TVS Motors hit their 52-week highs

Market breadth turned positive on BSE. Of the 4,356 actively traded stocks, 2,170 ended in the green, while a dominant 2,033 declined and 153 settled unchanged. The session saw 109 stocks scaling fresh 52-week highs, compared with 258 counters sliding to new 52-week lows. In addition, 170 scrips were locked at their upper circuits, whereas 172 hit lower circuit limits.

“As the session progressed, investors rotated towards non-cyclical pockets such as pharma and healthcare, while defence stocks gained on optimism over potential India–Israel tech-transfer initiatives. Sentiment recovered in late trade following reports of meetings between Indian and US commerce officials, which rekindled hopes of progress in bilateral trade negotiations and made the market close flat," Nair said.   

“Notably, significant open interest build-up near 25,350—also aligned with the 200-DMA—reinforces it as a strong immediate support, whereas 25,700 remains the key resistance on the upside. Overall, investor sentiment appears measured, with participants awaiting a clear breakout or breakdown to establish stronger conviction,” said Hariprasad K, SEBI-registered Research Analyst and Founder, Livelong Wealth.