Sensex down 200pts, Nifty near 25,580; Nifty IT down 2%; RBI MPC outcome in focus

Benchmark Indian equity indices were under pressure during the week’s last trading session as investors at Dalal Street gear up for policy day on Friday.

At 09:32 AM, the Sensex was quoted at 83,063.92, down 250.01 points, or 0.30 per cent, while the NSE Nifty50 was at 25,555.40, trading lower by 87.40 points, or 0.34 per cent.

In the Sensex pack, gains were led by Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Trent, Bajaj Finserv, and Power Grid, trading higher by up to 1.29 per cent, while NTPC, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, TCS, and Maruti Suzuki India were the top laggards, down by up to 1.28 per cent.

Among the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices were trading lower by 0.20 per cent and 0.41 per cent, respectively.

Sectoral indices on the NSE were trading mixed, with the Nifty IT index as the top laggard, down by over 1 per cent. Pharma, auto, metal, and media indices were trading lower by up to 0.80 per cent, while Nifty Oil & Gas, private bank, realty, FMCG, and select financials were in the green, with gains extending up to 0.33 per cent.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra will announce the interest rate decision at 10 AM today.

The repo rate and the regulator’s stance are expected to remain unchanged at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) review meeting, according to a Business Standard poll. Most of them said a further rate cut was seen only if there were significant downside risks to growth.

Meanwhile, action on equity markets will be stock-specific with earnings in focus. Tata Steel and Shree Cement are among the companies reporting Q3 earnings today.

Stock markets in Asia continued to trade lower on Friday, as losses in US tech stocks hurt sentiment worldwide. South Korea’s Kospi was lower by 3 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down nearly 2 per cent.

On Wall Street, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 suffered its worst three-day rout since last April’s meltdown, according to Bloomberg, amid concerns of artificial intelligence (AI). The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq were down 1.23 per cent and 1.59 per cent, respectively.

Nifty levels to watch

Nifty 50 remains locked in a consolidation phase after repeated failures to sustain above the 25,800 zone, highlighting selling pressure and profit-booking at elevated levels. The 25,600-25,500 band, which coincides with recent swing lows and the 20- and 100-day EMAs, is acting as a crucial support zone.

On the upside, strong resistance persists at 25,800-25,900, with the psychological 26,000 level acting as a higher hurdle. Conversely, a decisive break below 25,500 could trigger a deeper corrective move toward the 25,000 region. For today, the bias remains range-bound with a mild negative tilt if 25,600 is breached decisively.

View by Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money

Primary market action today

There will be no action on the mainboard space on Friday. However, the SME space will remain buzzing, with the initial public offering (IPO) of Brandman Retail and Grover Jewells entering their final day. Issues of PAN HR Solutions and Biopol Chemicals will open for bidding today.