NSE Nifty 50, which is headed towards its fifth consecutive monthly decline, faces crucial support at 22,500 levels, according to stock market analysts.

“As long as Nifty holds 22,500, a pullback rally towards 22,700-22,800 is possible, whereas, a firm break below 22,500 could trigger further selling pressure towards 22,300-22,100,” said Hrishikesh Yedve, assistant vice president for technical and derivatives research at Asit C. Mehta Investment Interrmediates Ltd.

On the flip side, 22,600 will service as a key resistance zone for short-term traders, according to Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities Ltd. “Above this level, a pullback could continue up to 22,700-22,800,” he said.

Chouhan added that a fresh sell-off is likely only after a breach of 22,500 levels on the lower end. Below this level, the market could slide to 22,400-22,350 levels, he noted.

For Bank Nifty, the support levels are placed at around 47,840, as per Yedve. “On the upside, 49,650 will remain a challenging barrier for the index,” he said.

FII/DII Activity

Foreign portfolio investors continued to remain net sellers of Indian equities for the sixth straight session on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors stayed net buyers for the 16th straight session.

FPIs offloaded stocks worth approximately Rs 556.6 crore and domestic institutional investors mopped up equities worth Rs 1,727.1 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.

F&O Action

The Nifty March futures were down 0.25% to 22,683.65 at a premium of 138.6 points, with the open interest up 37.38%.

The open interest distribution for the Nifty 50 March 6 expiry series indicated most activity at 22,900 call strikes, and the 25,200 put strikes having the maximum open interest.

Market Recap

Benchmark indices ended Thursday’s session flat, with the media and realty sectors declining the most, while finance emerged as a top sectoral gainer, followed by metal.

Shares of banks and non-banking financial companies soared the most, after Reserve Bank of India decided to lower the risk weights on bank loans to NBFCs.

The NSE Nifty 50 ended 2.5 points, or 0.01% lower at 22,545.05, while the BSE Sensex closed 31 points or 0.01% higher at 74,612.43.

Major Stocks In News

Granules: The company has received US FDA issued a Warning Letter to its Gagillapur facility based on its inspection conducted in August 2024. Manufacturing and distribution of existing products from the Gagillapur facility continue unaffected.

Transrail Lighting: The company has secured new orders worth Rs 2,752 crore, primarily from T&D business. Year-to-date order inflows have crossed Rs 7,400 crore.

Coal India: The company to Levy Charge Of Rs 300 per tonne over and above notified price across all mines of NCL from May 1.

Rail Vikas Nigam: The company received Letter of Acceptance from Central Railway for an order valued at Rs 136 crore. The company to build a new power station to help trains carry heavier loads (3000 metric tons) on the Bhusaval-Khandwa line.

LIC: The company has received GST demand of Rs 480 crore including interest & penalty for fiscal 2020-21 from Maharashtra Tax Authority.

Global Cues

Stocks in the Asia Pacific region continued to decline on Friday, after heavy selling in US markets as investors digested underwhelming Nvidia Corp. results, mixed economic data and further details on US tariffs.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 2.47%, or 64.64 points to 2,557.11, while Australia’s S&P ASX 200 was down 0.81% at 8,201.50 as of 7:28 a.m. Markets in Japan fell on Friday, while the benchmark index in China and Hong Kong also saw a lower open. This comes after S&P 500 fell 1.6% on Thursday, erasing the gains it made this year.

Among important events today, Japan Tokyo CPI, industrial production and retail sales data will be released today. US PCE inflation in addition to income and spending data will also be released on Friday.

The US dollar rose on Thursday following US President Donald Trump’s announcement on starting tariffs on Canada and Mexico from March 4 and adding another 10% tax on Chinese imports. The S&P 500 fell 1.6%, while the Nasdaq 100 slipped over 2.8%, pulled down by the Magnificent Seven that saw the biggest decline since December. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 0.45% on Friday.

The dollar index — which tracks the greenback’s performance against a basket of 10 leading global currencies — was 0.04% up at 107.33. The benchmark yield fell two basis points to 4.24%.

Crude oil prices rose after they began the week lower with the Brent crude rising 2.08% at $74.04 a barrel as of 7:29 a.m. IST, and the West Texas Intermediate was down 0.36% at $70.10.

Money Market

The rupee weakened against the US dollar in early trade, but recovered from the losses to settle on a muted note. The Indian unit closed at 87.2 against the greenback, unchanged from Tuesday’s close, according to Bloomberg data.

. Read more on Markets by NDTV Profit.As long as NSE Nifty 50 holds 22,500, a pullback rally towards 22,700-22,800 is possible, an analyst said.  Read MoreMarkets, Business 

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