Indian equity indices remained sideways for the whole day, ending on a positive note on Thursday. The Nifty 50 rose 41.30 points or 0.17% to settle the day’s trading at 24,811.50. The Sensex settled 148 points or 0.18% higher at 81,053. ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Grasim Industries, Infosys, and HDFC Bank were the top five major contributors. Market breadth was positive as 1,744 stocks closed in the green out of 2,829 stocks being traded on NSE.  

Sectoral Index

The Bank Nifty settled 300 points or 0.59% higher at 50,985.70. The Nifty Midcap 100 advanced 400.80 points or 0.69% higher at 58,844.85. In the broader markets, smallcap and midcap stocks closed in the green.

“The domestic market witnessed modest gains owing to the positive global sentiments. Particularly, the recent signs of weakness in the US non-farm payroll data have strengthened the case for potential interest rate cuts in September. However, in the broader market, investors are being cautious, opting for a selective approach, awaiting more clarity from central bank leaders in Japan and the US,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

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A Fed rate reduction typically weakens the US dollar, increases liquidity, and lowers borrowing costs, which can positively impact sectors like IT, BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance), Auto, and Realty.

“Overall, the rate cuts will be welcomed positively by the Indian market because the Reserve Bank of India is following the US Federal Reserve’s lead when it comes to interest rates, and their announcements will spur additional rate cuts in India, which will enhance liquidity, attract capital inflows, and strengthen the value of the rupee,” said Palka Arora Chopra, Director of Master Capital Services.

“We are of the view that the short-term market texture is still on the positive side but due to temporary overbought conditions we could see a range-bound activity in the near future. For the traders now, buying on dips and sell on rallies would be the ideal strategy. 24750-24700/80800-80650 would be the key support zone while 24900-24950/81400-81600 could act as key resistance areas for the day traders. However, below 24700/80650  the sentiment could change. Below the same, traders may prefer to exit out from the trading long positions,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities.

Bank Nifty

“The Bank Nifty witnessed continuation of the positive momentum which started during the second half of the previous trading session. It has managed to close above the key daily moving averages and the daily momentum indicator also has a positive crossover, which is a buy signal. Thus, the bank Nifty which was underperforming can now witness an upmove towards 51500 – 51900 from a short-term perspective. A stoploss of 50400 should be maintained for the long positions,” said Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.