Stock market news: Gift Nifty down 25 points; Key levels for Nifty, Sensex & Nifty Bank

Indian equity benchmark indices are set to open little changed, on a muted note, on Thursday, consolidating their recent gains after a trade deal with the United States, while investors look ahead to a busy earnings day. A stronger-than-expected US jobs data buoyed the dollar.

Nifty futures on the NSE International Exchange traded 24.70 points, or 0.10 per cent, down at 25,968, hinting at a muted start for the domestic market on Thursday. Asian stocks rose on Thursday, before turning flat. Nikkei shed 0.13 per cent, while Hang Seng dropped 0.8 per cent. However, KOSPI jumped 2.5 per cent in the early trade.

Key global and domestic macro data due include the US non-farm payrolls and unemployment rate later today, followed by India CPI inflation and US initial jobless claims, said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. "Markets are expected to witness a gradual uptick, with stock-specific activity likely to pick up as the Q3 earnings season nears its final phase."

The Nasdaq and the Dow fell slightly on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 made no progress in either direction. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 66.74 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 50,121.40, the S&P 500 lost 0.34 points to finish at 6,941.47 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 36.01 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 23,066.47.

Gold and silver fell on Thursday as the US dollar firmed after stronger-than-expected January jobs data dented expectation for near-term interest rate cuts, while investors awaited inflation data due on Friday for more monetary policy cues. Spot gold was down 0.4 per cent at $5,058.64 per ounce, while Spot silver fell 1.4 per cent to $82.87 per ounce.

This week the US dollar index is down 0.8 per cent to 96.852. In commodities, oil prices extended their gains as investors worried about escalating tensions between Iran and the US. Brent crude oil futures were 0.4 per cent higher at $69.68 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.46 per cent to $64.93

Sentiment remained cautiously positive amid mixed cues. Investors reacted to favourable earnings announcements from select companies, but muted global signals capped momentum and prevented follow-through buying, said Ajit Mishra, SVP of Research at Religare Broking. "Participants should continue to focus on stock selection and accumulate quality names across sectors."

Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net buyers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 943.81 crore on Wednesday. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned sellers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 125.36 crore on a net-net basis.  

Nifty50 and Sensex outlook

"We are of the view that, on the lower side, 25,900/84,200 would be the crucial support zone, while 26,000/84,500 would act as an immediate resistance area for the bulls. As long as the market is trading within this range, non-directional activity is likely to continue," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities.

On the higher side, a successful breakout of 26,000/84,500 could push the market towards 26,100-26,150/84,800-85,000. On the flip side, below 25,900/84,200, the selling pressure is likely to accelerate. Below this level, the market could retest the levels of 25,800-25,750/84,000-83,700, he said.

However, the short-term trend remains positive as it continues to hold above the immediate support at 25,800. A decisive move above 26,000 could trigger further upside toward higher levels, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities. "The technical setup remains bullish, with the RSI in a bullish crossover and the index trading above the 20-DMA, supporting a positive bias."  

Nifty Bank outlook

For Bank Nifty, the immediate resistance is placed in the 61,000–61,100 zone, making it a strong resistance, said Sudeep Shah, Head - Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities. "Any sustained move above this zone could lead to Index continuing its up move on the upside towards 61,400, followed by 61,700 in the near term. On the downside, the zone of 60,500–60,400 zone is likely to act as a strong support."

Bank Nifty formed a bullish hammer like candle with a small real body and long lower shadow signaling consolidation amid stock specific action, said Bajaj Broking. "Bias remains positive and we believe dips should be used as a buying opportunity, with short term support seen at 59,500-59,200 levels being the confluence of the 20- and 50-days EMA," he said.