Indian benchmark indices are expected to face continued pressure today as Gift Nifty signals a gap-down opening, trading more than 100 points below yesterday's spot Nifty close of 23,477. According to market reports, WTI crude is trading in the $103–104-per-barrel range after rising around 7.5% in the previous session, while Brent has moved toward the $108 mark amid escalating tensions involving Houthi forces and Saudi Arabia. Vaishali Parekh, Vice President — Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher, believes the Indian stock market may have a big gap-down opening today, as the Gift Nifty live chart is oscillating around 125 points below yesterday's spot Nifty close. The Nifty 50 witnessed good support near the 23,400 zone during the intraday session, closing just above the 23,450 level, which indicates some ray of hope for revival in coming sessions.
Sectoral performance showed mixed trends with private banks, oil and gas, cement and technology stocks closing lower, while media, pharma, chemicals and FMCG stocks ended higher. As reported by market sources, IT and realty stocks led the decline, with Infosys, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Life, and Wipro among the top laggards. The metals and energy indices bucked the trend, rising 1.8% and 0.6% respectively, providing some support to the broader market. Adani Ports surged nearly 4% on a Paradip Port project win, while Graphite India jumped 15% after electrode price hikes. The rupee weakened further, closing at 95.10 against the dollar, reflecting broader market uncertainty and India's vulnerability to rising crude prices as the country imports more than 80% of its crude oil requirements.
Market expert Vaishali Parekh from Prabhudas Lilladher has recommended three stocks for trading today amid current market volatility. Her latest recommendations include Shriram Finance at ₹1038 with target ₹1100 and stop loss ₹1015, KEC International at ₹413.45 with target ₹432 and stop loss ₹404, and Heritage Foods at ₹398 with target ₹425 and stop loss ₹388. According to her technical analysis, the Nifty 50 would have important support positioned near the 23,000 zone while the 23,800 level shall be the crucial hurdle that needs to be breached decisively to establish conviction for further upward move. Bank Nifty indicated rangebound movement near the 56,300 zone and closed in the green near 56,500, with important support near 54,500 and crucial support at 53,000 zone.
The recommended stocks show varying technical metrics with Shriram Finance having P/E ratio of 37.15 and 52-week high of ₹267, KEC International showing P/E ratio of 83.40 and 52-week high of ₹927, and Heritage Foods trading at ₹398 with P/E ratio of 36.50 and 52-week high of ₹2492.98. As reported by Prabhudas Lilladher, key risk factors include operational scaling challenges for TDPOWERSYS, heavy gold price volatility for LALITHAA, and corporate risks for NEPHROPLUS. The analysis suggests that despite current market volatility, downside support for Nifty has shifted to 23,000 with traders evaluating pullbacks toward this level as buying opportunities. Market sentiment remains fragile with 24,300 identified as the Max Pain point according to Open Interest data, while the key 23,800 level continues to hold offering some hope for recovery.
