Stock market today: Gift Nifty up 57 points; key levels for Nifty, Sensex & Nifty Bank

Indian equity benchmark indices are likely to open higher on Tuesday as investors continue to track quarterly business updates from companies amid optimism over earnings recovery. The upside could likely be capped as the threat of additional US tariffs looms. India is already facing 50 per cent tariffs.

Nifty futures on the NSE International Exchange traded 56.70 points, or 0.22 per cent, up at 26,388, hinting at a positive start for the domestic market on Tuesday. Asian stocks extended their record climb on Tuesday. Hang Seng jumped more than 1.5 per cent, while Nikkei was up nearly a per cent. KOSPI edged up marginally.

"We expect markets to remain firm with a positive bias, supported by better-than-expected Q3 business updates and expectations of a capex pickup ahead of the Union Budget, though there could be some volatility on the back of global geopolitical developments," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Wall Street ended higher on Monday, with surging financial shares helping lift the Dow Jones Industrial Average to an all-time peak. The S&P 500 climbed 0.64 per cent to end the session at 6,902.05 points. The Nasdaq gained 0.69 per cent to 23,395.82 points, while the Dow rose 1.23 per cent to 48,977.18 points.

The US dollar steadied near a two-week high as trading commenced in Asia on Tuesday, as market jitters from US military action in Venezuela eased and dovish comments from Fed officials spurred risk-taking on Wall Street. The dollar index was last trading at 98.36, nudging up 0.04 per cent. Gold was flat at around $4,449 an ounce.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday as traders weighed the prospect of higher Venezuelan crude output following the US capture of President Nicolas Maduro, adding to expectations of ample global supply this year amid weak demand. Brent crude futures fell 0.2 per cent to $61.62 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $58.15 a barrel, down 0.3 per cent.

Sentiment remained subdued due to weakness in heavyweight stocks, which declined sharply and offset positive developments in select cyclical names, said Ajit Mishra, SVP of Research at Religare Broking. "Participants are advised to focus on identifying quality stock-specific opportunities across sectors, keeping favorable risk–reward dynamics in mind," he said.

Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 36.25 crore on Monday. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 1,764.07 crore on a net-net basis.
 

Nifty50 & Sensex outlook

26,150/85,200 and 26,100/85,000 remain key support zones. As long as the market is trading above these levels, the bullish sentiment is likely to continue, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities.

"On the higher side, 26,350/85,700 and 26,400/85,850 are immediate resistance zones for the bulls. However, below 26,100/85,000, the uptrend could become vulnerable. The intraday market texture is volatile; hence, level-based trading would be the ideal strategy for day traders," he said.

Nifty50 breached the key support of 26,300 and eventually closed near 26,244, indicating a short-term bearish bias. Immediate resistance for the index is placed in the 26,400–26,450 zone, while support is seen at 26,200–26,150, said Aakash Shah, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Broking

"The RSI eased to 58.09, signalling weakening momentum, while volatility picked up and heavy call writing at the 26,300 strike emerged as a crucial pivot level. Despite the near-term weakness, the broader buy-on-dips strategy remains intact as long as the index holds above 26,200," he said.
 

Nifty Bank outlook

Nifty Bank witnessed a profit booking after marking a fresh all-time high. It has formed a bearish candle with minor shadows on either side, said Sudeep Shah, Head - Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities.

"The zone of 60,400-60,500 will act as an important hurdle for the index. Any sustainable move above the level of 60,500 will lead to further upside upto 61,100, followed by 61,600 in the short term. On the downside, the zone of 59,700-59,600 will act as important support," it said.

A follow through strength above Monday’s high will open further upside towards 60,700 initially followed by 61,400 levels from a short-term perspective being the measuring implication of the recent range 60,100-58,800, said Bajaj Broking. "Immediate support is placed at 59,500 levels on the downside, while key short-term support is placed at 59,000-58800 levels," it said.