Markets opened on a cautious note Wednesday morning, with the starting at 24,945.50 from its previous close of 24,973.10 and trading at 24,984.55, up 11.45 points or 0.05 per cent, at 9.40 am. The opened at 81,217.30 against its previous close of 81,425.15 and was at 81,492.12, higher by 66.97 points or 0.08 per cent, as mixed global cues and domestic institutional flows kept sentiment tepid ahead of the Federal Reserve’s anticipated rate decision next week.
“Gift Nifty is signalling a flat opening in Nifty today,” said Hariprasad K, Research Analyst and Founder of Livelong Wealth. Domestic institutional investors provided strong support with net inflows of ₹4,963.53 crore on Wednesday, while foreign institutional investors turned slightly negative at ₹33.55 crore.
The Nifty 50’s technical picture remained mixed, with the index breaking out of a four-day consolidation phase. “The Nifty 50 has broken out of a four-day consolidation phase, closing above its sloping resistance line, signalling strong bullish momentum,” noted Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money. Key resistance levels were identified at 25,050-25,100, with support at 24,850 where moving averages converge.
led the morning gainers, surging 1.57 per cent to ₹1,410.90, followed by which gained 1.29 per cent to ₹329.85. advanced 1.17 per cent to ₹234.45, while rose 0.93 per cent to ₹2,362. Among losers, declined 1.44 per cent to ₹1,285.40, dropped 1.01 per cent to ₹1,815.20, and IT majors and fell 0.88 per cent and 0.79 per cent respectively to ₹1,519.10 and ₹1,514.
The banking sector showed resilience with Bank Nifty trading within a descending broadening wedge pattern. “Bank Nifty is trading within a descending broadening wedge, with prices filling the gap at 54,700,” observed Ponmudi R. The banking index found support at 54,350-54,100 levels with resistance at 54,900.
“A significant trend in the stock markets, for some time now, is the underperformance of India relative to other markets,” highlighted Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments. While global markets including the US, Taiwan and Korea hit record highs, the Nifty remained 4.4 per cent below its September 2024 peak. “Now the largecaps are fairly valued, but the mid and smallcaps, particularly the latter, continue to be overvalued,” he added.
Market sentiment received support from cooling US inflation data, with wholesale prices unexpectedly contracting 0.1 per cent in August. “Globally, sentiment remains cautiously optimistic, supported by a surprise drop in US wholesale prices, which has strengthened expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut next week,” said Ponmudi R.
However, concerns lingered over potential trade tensions following reports of former President Trump urging EU tariffs on Indian goods. “Sentiment hit by reports of Trump urging the EU to impose tariffs on Indian and Chinese goods,” noted Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities. Despite this, hopes of a US-India trade deal and record highs in US indices maintained bullish undertones.
On the commodities front, crude oil prices remained volatile amid geopolitical tensions and bearish inventory data. “Crude Oil prices saw high volatility as crude extended gains on geopolitical escalations,” said Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities at Mehta Equities. Gold traded with a steady bias, supported by cooling US inflation but awaiting further direction from CPI data.
“Given the prevailing uncertainty and heightened volatility, traders are advised to maintain a cautious ‘wait-and-watch’ stance,” recommended Amruta Shinde, Technical and Derivative Analyst at Choice Broking. Fresh long positions were advised only if Nifty sustained above 25,000 levels.
The market outlook remained cautiously bullish, with analysts closely tracking breakout levels and global developments ahead of the Fed’s policy announcement.