Sensex and Nifty Decline as Investors Book Profits; Mid and Small Caps Continue to Rally:

Suspense crime, Digital Desk : Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex suspended their surge on Thursday, breaking a two-session winning streak. Investors decided to capture profits amid Wednesday's surge. However, broader markets remained alive as the mid and small cap indices advanced for a fifth consecutive session.

At 9:45 AM, the Sensex traded lower by 267.33 points or 0.32% at 82,263.41 and the Nifty was down 66.40 points or 0.26% at 24,995.70. Market breadth remained in positive territory with 2,128 advancing counters as against 854 declining and 130 unchanged.

Positive Master Blend on Wednesday Boosts Market Sentiment
The mid week showed a remarkable resurgence later into the day though the session began on a rather volatile note, with Nifty even crossing the 25,000 mark for the first time since October 2024. These were driven by the moderating geopolitical concerns and positive sentiment for a prospective zero tariff trade deal between India and the US which was raised by US President Trump during his Doha visit.

As noted, post earnings season uncertainty dialed down alongside a return of FIIs into the net buyers category, also supported by falling inflation has turned the investors outlook more optimistically, Palviya stated.

Sectoral Trends Show Mixed Movement

On the sectoral front, Nifty Energy advanced by 0.65%, while Consumer Durables advanced by 0.55%. The Realty, Oil & Gas, Metal, Auto and PSU Bank indices also opened with marginal positive movement. On the other hand, Nifty IT fell by 0.31%, Pharma by 0.29%, and Banking indices dropped approximately 0.2%. Meanwhile, the India VIX fell by 2% to 16.5, suggesting reduced market volatility.

Stock Specific: IndusInd Bank, Airtel See Declines

IndusInd Bank shares fell by 4% after announcing two accounting blunders, forcing brokerages to slash earnings estimates. CLSA has now marked the stock as 'hold' with a target price cut to Rs 780, citing PAT for FY25 estimates slashed by 22%

Bharti Airtel shares also saw a decline, down 3%, following the announcement from Singtel that they plan to offload a stake through its investment fund Pastel. Approximately 0.8% of Bharti Airtel’s stake is anticipated to be offloaded at a minimum price of Rs 1,800 per share, representing a 3.6% discount from the close on Thursday.

LIC Housing Finance Dips Despite Profit Jump

Shares of LIC Housing Finance dipped by 2% even when the company disclosed that its net profit for Q4 FY25 surged by 25.4% year-over-year to Rs 1,368 crore. In last year's quarter, the profit was 1,090.8 crore.

Predicted Trends: Support and Resistance Frameworks

As per the input given to Hardik Matalia From Choice Broking, Support for Nifty ranges from 24,850 to 24,700, Resistance is seen at 25,100 and 25,235. If the Index clears 25,235, then the next target would be 25,500 to 25,743 range. Caution is also recommended, as he keeps a wait and see approach (buy on dips) because of geopolitics.

Bank Nifty grew by 554 points forming a Bullish Candle. If there is a sustained move above 55,500, there may be further upside. Key support levels are 55,000 and 54,720, while resistance is seen at 55,700 and 56,000. A rally towards 56,500 can be anticipated if the close is above this range.

Top Gainers and Losers

Also, Snap Gainers on the Nifty were Bharat Electronics, NTPC, Eicher Motors, Eternal and Adani Enterprises. On the Suffixing front were IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, SBI, HCL Tech, and Infosys.