Indian stock markets are expected to open higher on Friday (August 28), as indicated by GIFT Nifty trading 0.2 per cent, or 48.5 points, higher at 24,267.50 as of 8:15 am IST. According to reports from ET Now, GIFT Nifty serves as a pre-market indicator for the Nifty 50 and often signals whether the benchmark index is likely to open higher, lower or flat based on global market cues. The positive opening sentiment comes after Thursday's decline when the BSE Sensex fell 539.35 points to close at 76,933.59 and the NSE Nifty dropped 116.90 points to close at 24,090.85. However, technical analysts now suggest the near-term bias has turned cautious to weak, with the Nifty slipping below key technical support levels.
Vatsal Bhuva, Research Analyst at LKP Securities, has recommended Jindal SAW and VA Tech Wabag as top picks for Friday's trading session. As reported by ET Now, these recommendations come with specific target and stop-loss levels. Jindal SAW is recommended with a target price of ₹344 and a stop-loss level of ₹290, while VA Tech Wabag carries a target of ₹2,350 with a stop-loss at ₹2,020. The analyst's selections reflect potential opportunities in the current market environment despite broader market weakness.
Technical analysts have identified critical support and resistance levels for the Nifty following Thursday's decline. According to Bajaj Broking Research, the Nifty formed a bearish candle with a lower high and lower low for the second consecutive session, signalling a continuation of the corrective decline. The index closed below the 50-day EMA and is expected to trade in the 23,800-24,600 range in coming sessions. Nagaraj Shetti from HDFC Securities noted that the Nifty is moving towards the 24,000 support level on the weekly timeframe, with crucial overhead resistance at 24,380. The last two weeks high is placed around 24,378 levels, and failure to move above this level will keep the immediate bias corrective with key support at 24,000-23,800 levels.
Asian markets showed mixed performance on Friday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 gaining 0.8 per cent to 66,680 according to ET Now reports. However, South Korea's KOSPI traded about 1 per cent lower at 6,845.31, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng ticked higher at 25,599. China's Shanghai Composite was up about 0.3 per cent at 3,967.68, indicating varied regional market sentiment that could influence global trading patterns.
Thursday's trading session saw significant declines across major indices, with the Nifty Bank index closing 273.80 points lower at 57,509.95, representing a 0.47 per cent decline. As reported by ET Now, the BSE Sensex fell 539.35 points to close at 76,933.59 and the NSE Nifty dropped 116.90 points to close at 24,090.85, indicating broad-based selling pressure. According to Hedged.in, the decline reflected profit booking across the market with selling pressure in select heavyweight stocks. Despite the short-term weakness, experts point out that key structural supports remain intact as the market transitions into its next phase of consolidation, with analysts advising a buy-on-dips approach in fundamentally strong stocks while maintaining disciplined risk management.
