The Indian stock market witnessed profit booking during the second half of the session amid escalating geopolitical tensions, with the Nifty 50 declining 53.35 points (-0.23%) to close at 23,161.60 and the Sensex falling 150.63 points (-0.20%) to settle at 73,832.55. According to reports from Live Mint, volatility remained elevated throughout the day with sharp intraday swings driven by the weekly Sensex expiry. The cautious sentiment prevailed despite crude oil prices remaining near a three-month low of around $92 per barrel, which would otherwise have provided support to overall market sentiment.
On the sectoral front, Information Technology and Consumer Durables emerged as key laggards witnessing broad-based selling pressure throughout the session, as reported by Live Mint. However, Media and Private Banking stocks provided support to the market, while Healthcare and Pharmaceutical counters also ended with modest gains, reflecting a defensive bias among investors. The Nifty Midcap 100 index declined 0.81% to close at 59,325, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index ended 0.67% lower at 17,702, indicating relatively sharper profit booking beyond the frontline indices.
Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director at Choice Broking, believes the Indian stock market is trading in a range-bound pattern but predicts buying at lower levels. According to Live Mint reports, Bagadia noted that the formation of an inverted hammer-like candlestick pattern indicates buying support emerging from lower levels despite weakness at the close. Immediate support for the Nifty 50 index is in the 22,900–22,950 range while resistance is observed between 23,350 and 23,400. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at 37.86, indicating weak momentum, while the volatility index, India VIX, declined marginally by 0.12% to close at 15.61.
Regarding stocks to buy today, Sumeet Bagadia recommended five breakout stocks with specific trading parameters: Jindal Poly Films (buy at ₹732, target ₹815, stop loss ₹689), SIS (buy at ₹429, target ₹470, stop loss ₹407), Ajanta Pharma (buy at ₹3143, target ₹3420, stop loss ₹3000), ICICI Bank (buy at ₹1317, target ₹1430, stop loss ₹1250), and Neogen Chemicals (buy at ₹2029, target ₹2200, stop loss ₹1930). As reported by Live Mint, in the derivatives segment, notable call writing was seen at the 23,200 strike, followed by 23,300, while significant put writing was observed at 23,200 and 23,000 levels.
