However, profit booking in the final 90 minutes led to a pullback of about 190 points from the day’s high. Despite the late correction, the index has rebounded nearly 1,000 points from its recent swing low of 22,471.
On the upside, the 23,460-23,465 zone acted as a strong resistance level, with the index failing to sustain above it on two occasions intraday, triggering a mild retreat towards the close.
The Nifty eventually settled at 23,306, gaining 1.72% for the session.
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On the sectoral front, all the sectoral indices closed in the green with Nifty Realty ending the day as a top sectoral gainer followed by Nifty PSU Banks. Both the indices closed with a gain of over 2.5%.
With regards to stocks, Shriram Finance and Titan ended up as top two gainers while Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, TCS and BEL were the only four stocks from the Nifty50 pack that ended with losses.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The Smallcap Index has reclaimed the key 15,750 level, signalling renewed strength. Meanwhile, the Midcap Index, which had struggled to move past the 54,240-54,340 zone over the past two sessions, has now decisively broken above this rang.
The near-term recovery in the Nifty may remain delicate, hinging largely on evolving geopolitical cues.
According to Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal, softer crude prices and signs of negotiations have supported sentiment for now, but any deterioration, especially around risks to energy infrastructure, could quickly unsettle markets.
From a technical perspective, Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities believes sustained momentum could push the index towards 23,850 in the near term, while dips may find buying interest around the 23,000 mark.
Sudeep Shah of SBI Securities sees immediate resistance in the 23,400-23,450 range.
A decisive move above this band could open the path towards 23,600 and then 23,800, while support is seen in the 23,150-23,100 zone.
Rupak De of LKP Securities said the short-term trend is likely to stay positive as long as the index holds above 23,000.
A breakout beyond 23,500 could trigger the next leg of the rally towards 24,000-24,500, whereas failure to reclaim that level may invite renewed selling pressure.
Meanwhile, Vinay Rajani said that the recent rebound has taken the Nifty above its 10-day simple moving average of 23,240 for the first time since the selloff triggered by West Asia tensions.
He pegged immediate support at 23,060, with resistance in the 23,378-23,618 band.
With markets shut on Thursday for Ram Navami, investors will monitor global developments closely, and Friday’s session is expected to react to any fresh triggers.
