Stock market today: Gift Nifty up 8 pts; levels to watch for Nifty, Sensex & Nifty Bank

Indian equity benchmark indices are set to open with mild positivity on Tuesday, tracking the Asian peers, after a strong close for the US stocks. However, traders will be looking at listing of LG Electronics India. Besides, Q2 earnings of India Inc and tariff tantrums shall continue to guide the sentiments at Dalal Street.

Nifty futures on the NSE International Exchange traded 7.70 points, or 0.03 per cent, up at 25,317 hinting at a flat start for the domestic market on Tuesday. Asian stocks made a tentative rebound in early trade on Tuesday. Nikkei was down a per cent, while KOSPI was trading with similar gains. Hang Seng was seen mostly flat.

"We expect markets to remain range-bound in the near term, tracking Q2 earnings announcements and evolving global tariff developments. While institutional inflows and domestic fundamentals provide a cushion, volatility may persist as investors assess trade rhetoric and its implications for global growth," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research of Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Wall Street's main indexes ended sharply higher on Monday after Donald Trump struck a conciliatory tone about renewed US-China trade tensions, easing investor worries. The S&P 500 climbed 1.56 per cent to end the session at 6,654.72 points. The Nasdaq gained 2.21 per cent to 22,694.61 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.29 per cent to 46,067.58 points.

Brent crude was last up 0.4 per cent at $63.56 per barrel after an OPEC report on Monday showed world oil supply is expected to closely match demand next year as the wider OPEC+ group increases production. Gold gained 0.7 per cent to $4,138.39 per ounce, showing little sign of pausing for breath as precious metals continue to set records.

The dollar index was last trading at 99.289. Bitcoin was last down 0.9 per cent at $114,789.90, while Ether slipped 1.5 per cent to $4,223.14. On the other hand, traders continue to expect easing from the Federal Reserve later this month is a near-certainty.

Tariff escalation concerns triggered risk aversion across global equities, which in turn dampened domestic sentiment, said Ajit Mishra, SVP of Research at Religare Broking. "Earnings will remain the key focus, though global developments may continue to induce volatility. We suggest maintaining a positive bias and adopting a strategy of buying quality stocks on dips."

Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 240.10 crore on Monday. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 2,333.42 crore on a net-net basis.
 

Nifty50 & Sensex outlook
The intraday market texture is volatile and non-directional; hence, level-based trading would be the ideal strategy for day traders, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities. "On the downside, 25,150/82,000 and 25,100/81,800 would act as key support zones, while 25,350-25,400/82,500-82,800 could serve as immediate resistance areas for the bulls. However, below 25,100/81,800, the market could retest the level of 25,000/81,500," he said.

The zone of 25,300-25,350 will act as a crucial hurdle for Nifty50. Any sustainable move above the level of 25,350 will lead to a sharp upside rally in the index upto the 25,500, said Sudeep Shah, Head of Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities. "On the downside, the zone of 25,150-25,100 will act as crucial support."
 

Nifty Bank outlook
Nifty Bank formed a bullish candle on the daily charts, indicating strength. Immediate support for the Bank Nifty is placed near 56,300, where the trend line support lies, followed by 55,820, said Hrishikesh Yedve, AVP Technical and Derivative Research, Asit C. Mehta Investment Interrmediates. "As long as the index holds above 55,820, it is likely to extend its move towards 57,000–57,300 levels. Hence, traders are advised to maintain a buy-on-dips strategy in the short term," he said.

"We expect the index to head towards the immediate resistance of 57,000, a move above the same will open further upside towards all-time high placed around 57600 levels. The Stochastic indicator, which earlier hovered in oversold territory, has shown a sharp recovery and is now approaching overbought levels, indicating strong underlying momentum," said Bajaj Broking.