opened on a subdued note on Thursday, with the slipping 115.54 points (0.14 per cent) to ₹84,845.60 and the down 44.60 points (0.17 per cent) to ₹26,096.15, extending losses for the third consecutive session. The Sensex had closed at ₹84,961.14 on Tuesday and opened today at ₹84,778.02, while the Nifty closed at ₹26,140.75 and opened at ₹26,106.50.
Market participants attributed the weak opening to cautious global cues, elevated geopolitical tensions, renewed tariff-related concerns, and continued foreign portfolio investor (FII) selling pressure. “With both the Nifty and Bank Nifty holding key support levels but encountering stiff overhead resistance, market sentiment remains cautious,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money. “The broader market is likely to open flat to range-bound, tracking mixed cues from global markets.”
Among the Nifty50 constituents, led the gainers, rising 1.69 per cent to ₹285.70, followed by which gained 1.39 per cent to ₹1,485.60. advanced 0.73 per cent to ₹2,086.00, while climbed 0.65 per cent to ₹1,437.00 and added 0.60 per cent to ₹974.60.
On the losing side, declined 1.99 per cent to ₹3,230.00, while dropped 1.92 per cent to ₹920.45. fell 1.36 per cent to ₹1,173.60, shed 1.29 per cent to ₹762.35, and lost 1.13 per cent to ₹236.36.
Technical analysts noted that the Nifty tested an intraday low near 26,050, which acted as a base support aligned with the 20-day exponential moving average around 26,086. “The recovery enabled the index to close above 26,200, which now acts as an immediate resistance zone,” Ponmudi explained. “A sustained breakout above 26,200 is required to revive bullish momentum and open the path toward 26,300–26,400.”
Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd, highlighted that losses were capped by positive cues from Wall Street, where “the Dow Jones closed above 49,000 for the first time and the S&P 500 notched its first record high of the year.” However, he cautioned that “the broader market shows signs of fatigue due to sustained FII selling pressure.”
Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research at Kotak Securities, noted that the previous session witnessed lacklustre activity with non-directional trading. “The IT Index rallied 1.95 per cent, whereas the Auto Index shed nearly 0.75 per cent,” he said, adding that “26,200/85,100 would act as an immediate breakout zone for the bulls.”
Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, offered a fundamental perspective, stating that “advanced estimates project the FY 26 GDP growth at an impressive 7.4 per cent.” However, he noted that “this strong fundamental is unlikely to reflect in the market very soon since the much-awaited US-India trade deal, which is critical for India’s sustained growth and macro-economic stability, is not happening.”
In the commodities market, Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities at Mehta Equities Ltd, reported that “gold and silver prices declined sharply in a highly volatile session after US ADP non-farm employment data exceeded expectations.” He noted that gold has support at ₹1,36,550-1,35,310 with resistance at ₹1,39,350-1,40,670, while crude oil “extended losses and fell more than 3 per cent on Wednesday after the U.S. President announced a $2 billion deal involving Venezuelan oil.”