Indian markets attempted to recover from yesterday’s losses on Wednesday morning. The Sensex started trading at 82,202.80 gaining 172.82 points, and the Nifty opened higher by 75.60 points at 25,181.95 points.
Notably, Dalal Street witnessed marginal gains during early morning trade on Wednesday, as markets continued to be cautious due to weak global cues and rising trade tensions. In the pre-open session at around 9:02 AM, the indices hinted at a marginal rise with the Sensex trading a little under 82,300 or higher by 0.28 per cent and the Nifty testing 25,150, registering a marginal rise of 0.01 per cent.
The Gift Nifty indicated a marginal rise of 0.09 per cent around 8:18 AM.
Among the top gainers in the stock markets today were Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, L&T, and Bharti Airtel, while the laggards included stocks like Tata Motors, Infosys, Titan, Axis Bank and Tech Mahindra.
The broader markets painted green despite volatility being extremely with the Nifty VIX index climbing 3.89 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 50 outshined in the broader markets inching up by 0.64 per cent.
Sectorally, the Nifty Media index declined by 0.29 per cent and the Nifty Financial Services Ex-Bank index gained by 0.89 per cent.
US-China Tensions Dominate Sentiment
While renewed US-China trade tensions re-ignited risk aversion, they also prompted a shift towards safe haven assets like gold as well as US Treasury bonds, analysts said.
The dispute between the two largest economies in the world, has now extended to maritime trade, with Beijing threatening to impose special charges on vessels owned, operated, built, or flagged by the US, while exempting Chinese-built ships from the levy.
Analysts noted that the 25,300–25,400 range continues to pose strong resistance for the Nifty, with 25,000 emerging as the critical support level. “A sustained move above 25,300 could reignite bullish momentum, but a dip below 25,000 may trigger further declines toward 24,850–24,700,” they said.
Experts added that 25,000 remains the key level to watch, as “bulls are defending it, while bears are active near 25,300.” They cautioned that until a decisive breakout occurs on either side, the markets are likely to remain range-bound with intermittent volatility. Selling pressure persisted across sectors, with PSU banks bearing the brunt of the losses.
The benchmark stock indices, Sensex and Nifty, ended lower on Tuesday amid weak trends in Asian as well as European markets and fresh foreign fund outflows. The Sensex fell over 200 points or 0.36 per cent, reversing its early gains and the Nifty dropped more than 80 points or 0.32 per cent during closing bell.
