The immediate support for NSE Nifty 50 is placed at 22,300 levels, analysts said, after the Indian stock market settled in the red on Wednesday.

For four consecutive trading sessions, Nifty 50 has traded within a narrow range. A move above 22,677 could trigger a further rally toward the next resistance level at 23,000, according to Devarsh Vakil, head of prime research at HDFC Securities Ltd. “On the downside, the support band from 22,245-22,300 is likely to continue providing a floor for Nifty,” he said.

The current market texture is volatile and non-directional, and hence, level-based trading would be the ideal strategy for day traders, as per Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities Ltd. For traders now, 22,300 levels would act as a “sacrosanct support zone”, he said.

Chouhan highlighted that above this level, the market could move up to 22,600-22,650 levels. On the flip side, a drop below 22,300 would “make the uptrend vulnerable”, he added.

Meanwhile, Bank Nifty has defended the key support level of 47,840, according to Hrishikesh Yedve, assistant vice president of technical and derivatives research at Asit C Mehta Investment Interrmediates Ltd.

“As long as the index holds above 47,840, a relief rally remains possible. On the upside, 48,800 will act as a key hurdle for Bank Nifty. However, a sustained break below 47,840 could lead to further weakness,” he said.

FII/DII Activity

Foreign portfolio investors remained net sellers of Indian equities for the 15th straight session on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors, stayed net buyers for the 25th straight session.

FPIs offloaded stocks worth Rs 1,627.61 crore and domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 1,510.35 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.

F&O Cues

The Nifty March futures were down 0.17% to 22,530.35 at a premium of 59.85 points, with the open interest down 0.68%.

The open interest distribution for the Nifty 50 March 13 expiry series indicated most activity at 23,000 call strikes, and the 22,000 put strikes had the maximum open interest.

Market Recap

The benchmark equity indices ended Wednesday’s session lower, with Nifty ending in red and Sensex extending its decline for the third day.

The NSE Nifty 50 ended 27.40 points, or 0.12% lower at 22,470.50, while the BSE Sensex closed 72.56 points, or 0.10% down at 74,029.76.

On the NSE, seven out of 12 sectors rose with five in the red. The Nifty Finance and Nifty Auto rose the most, while Nifty IT fell the most.

Shares of information technology companies were under pressure on Wednesday, as Nifty IT fell into bear market territory, with the index falling 21.67% from the record high it hit in December.

Major Stocks In News 

  • Bharat Electronics: The company has received order worth Rs 2,463 crore from Indian Air Force for Ashwini Radars.

  • Jubilant Pharmova: The company has received EIR from US FDA with voluntary action indicated for arm’s oral formulations facility in Maryland.

  • BEML: The company has signed MoU with Siemens India to explore opportunities in suburban passenger train segments. BEML and Dragflow S.R.L., signed an MOU to strengthen Indigenous Dredging Solutions.

  • Infosys: The company has expanded its agreement with Citizens to Propel AI-led transformation.

  • ICICI Securities: Trading in the company’s shares to be suspended effective March 24.

Global Cues

Stocks in the Asia Pacific region rose on Thursday after soft US inflation print helped the Wall Street snap two days of heavy losses.

South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.80%, or 20.68 points to 2,595.50, while Australia’s S&P ASX 200 rose in early trade but gave up gains as of 6:55 a.m. and was down 0.10% at 7,778.40. Markets in Japan and Hong Kong Futures rose on Thursday, while the benchmark indices in China were mixed.

This comes after S&P 500 rose 0.49% on Wednesday, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.22%. On the other hand, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 0.20% on Wednesday.

Among important events today Europe will announce its industrial production data, while US will announce PPI and initial jobless claims.

The dollar index — which tracks the greenback’s performance against a basket of 10 leading global currencies — fell 0.02% to 103.57. The benchmark yield was unchanged at 4.31%.

Crude oil fell on Thursday with the Brent crude declining 0.11% at $70.87 a barrel as of 6:58 a.m. IST, and the West Texas Intermediate was down 0.18% at $67.56.

Money Market 

The rupee ended flat against the US dollar on Wednesday as market participants awaited the release of US consumer price index print for February. The Indian unit ended flat at 87.21 against the greenback, according to Bloomberg data. On Tuesday, it had settled 12 paise higher against the dollar.

. Read more on Markets by NDTV Profit.The next resistance level for the benchmark index is seen at 23,000, as per market analysts.  Read MoreMarkets, Business 

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