Stock market today: Gift Nifty up 30 points; key levels for Nifty, Sensex & Nifty Bank

India's equity benchmarks are expected to open little changed, mostly on a flat note on Wednesday, following modest gains in the previous session that were led by IT stocks after the Infosys–Anthropic deal. Market participants are weighing in consolidation in the absence of key triggers and absence of cues from the Asian peers.

Nifty futures on the NSE International Exchange traded 30.10 points, or 0.12 per cent, up at 25,769.60, hinting at a positive start for the domestic market on Wednesday. Asian stocks rose on Wednesday despite the renewed AI worries gripping international markets. Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korean markets were closed for Lunar New Year holidays.

"Sentiments in the IT sector improved after Infosys announced a strategic partnership with Anthropic, easing concerns around AI-led disruption. Overall, we expect markets to remain firm with a positive bias, tracking global cues and developments on the domestic sectoral front," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

US stocks managed to eke out slight gains on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 32.26 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 49,533.19; the S&P 500 gained 7.05 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 6,843.22 and the Nasdaq Composite added 31.71 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 22,578.38.

The US dollar index was flat in Asia hours at 97.12. The traditional safe-haven currency held its ground as geopolitical risks kept markets on edge and investors awaited minutes from the Federal Reserve's January meeting, due later on Wednesday, for signals on the path for interest rates.

In commodities, Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were little changed on Wednesday at $67.42 and $62.32 per barrel, respectively, after both slid to close at more than two-week lows in the previous session. Gold was 0.2 per cent weaker to around $4,867 per ounce and silver was down by around the same margin to around $73.30 per ounce.

Despite the cautious undertone, pockets of risk appetite emerged as participants positioned themselves in relatively strong themes, said Ajit Mishra, SVP of Research at Religare Broking. "It may be difficult for the market to deliver a strong directional move without sustained participation from other key sectors. We therefore suggest focusing on stock selection and trade management."

Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 995.21 crore on Tuesday. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 187.04 crore on a net-net basis.

Nifty50 & Sensex outlook On intraday charts, the market is holding an uptrend continuation formation and also formed a bullish candle on daily charts, which is largely positive. 25,600/83,000 and 25,500/82,700 remain the crucial support zones for traders. As long as the market is trading above these levels, the bullish momentum is likely to continue, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities.

"On the higher side, 25,800/83,700 would act as an immediate resistance zone for the bulls. A successful breakout above 25,800/83,800 could push the market towards 25,950-26,000/84,200-84,500. On the flip side, below 25,500/82,700, the uptrend would become vulnerable," he said.

A reasonable positive candle was formed on the daily chart with minor upper and lower shadow. This market action signal breathed in the market after a sharp bounce back in the previous session. The crucial hurdle of the previous opening downside gap has been filled completely on the upside at 25,750 levels, said Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities.

"The underlying short-term trend of Nifty remains positive. A decisive move above the hurdle of 25,750-25,800 levels is likely to bring bulls into further action towards the upside of 26000 and next 26350 in the near term. Immediate support is placed at 25,600 levels," he said.  

Nifty Bank outlook

From a technical perspective, the support base for Nifty Bank has shifted higher. The immediate support zone lies in the 60,800–60,700 range, said Sudeep Shah, Head of Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities. "As long as it holds above 60,700, the broader setup remains favourable for further upside. It is likely to test 61600, followed by 62,100 levels in the short term."

Nifty Bank outperformed, demonstrating notable relative strength and breaking above its recent consolidation range. It is trading above its key moving averages, reinforcing the strength of the prevailing momentum and suggesting that the upward trajectory may continue in the short term, said Bajaj Broking.

"Immediate resistance is placed at 61,500, followed by 61,800, where some profit booking may emerge. A decisive move above these levels could extend the ongoing uptrend. On the downside, support levels have shifted higher to 60,800, followed by 60,500, indicating that buyers are stepping in at elevated levels," he said.