MUMBAI, India — Indian stock markets ended slightly higher on Wednesday after paring most of their early gains, with weakness in heavyweight stocks partly offset by buying interest in IT and metal shares.
The Nifty rose 57.85 points, or 0.23 percent, to close at 25,482.50, while the Sensex gained 50.15 points, or 0.06 percent, to end at 82,276.07.
Reliance Industries and State Bank of India weighed on the benchmarks during the session, but strength in select metal and technology stocks helped limit the downside.
Market analysts said the 25,400 level on the Nifty is acting as immediate structural support, while the 25,600–25,650 zone, aligned with the 50-day and 100-day exponential moving averages, remains a strong resistance area.
“A decisive break below 25,300 may accelerate selling pressure toward the 25,250–25,150 zone, which coincides with the 200-day EMA,” an analyst said.
“On the upside, a sustained breakout above 25,650 would be needed to trigger short covering and potentially extend gains toward the 25,800–26,000 range,” the analyst added.
On the Sensex, Reliance Industries was the biggest laggard, falling 2.23 percent. Shares of State Bank of India, Eternal, Bharti Airtel, ITC, HDFC Bank, and Bajaj Finance also ended lower.
Gains were led by HCL Tech, which rose 2.8 percent. Tata Steel, TCS, IndiGo, Sun Pharma, and Mahindra & Mahindra were also among the top performers, lending support to the broader market.
Broader indices outperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap 100 rising 0.58 percent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining 0.96 percent.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Metal emerged as the top performer, followed by Nifty Pharma and Nifty IT. The Nifty PSU Bank index was the worst-performing sector of the day.
Market participants said that despite volatility and profit booking at higher levels, positive momentum in metal and IT stocks helped the indices finish the session in positive territory.
“Despite a strong opening, benchmark indices gradually pared early gains as profit booking at elevated levels weighed on sentiment,” an analyst said. (Source: IANS)
