The market opened flat today after a strong upmove yesterday on US trade tariff tensions easing. The Sensex was up 120.79 points or 0.15% at 78,704.60, and Nifty 50 was up 62.50 points or 0.26% at 23,801.75.
HDFC Bank, Infosys, Oil and Natural Gas Corp, Tata Consultancy Services and Bharat Petroleum Corp were the top gainers in Nifty 50. Asian Paints, Larsen & Toubro, Titan and Nestle India dragged the index.
Among sectors, 9 out of 12 sectors advanced on NSE, 3 declined. NSE Oil & Gas index was the top gainer and NSE FMCG index was the biggest loser. BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up.
Analysts said that after a good start, Nifty can find support at 23,600 and resistance at 23,800, then 23,900 and 24,000. FII who were net sellers for 23 days in a row turned net buyers on Feb 4, bought equities worth ₹809 crore. DIIs who were net buyers for 35 days in a row turned net sellers, sold equities worth ₹430 crore.
The strong buying interest helped Nifty to close above 23,700 and global markets are also positive.
Sameet Chavan of Angel One said US decied to pause tariff hike and US futures recovered and that set a positive tone for Asian markets. He said market momentum is strong but key resistance levels of 23,900 (89 day EMA), 24,000 (200 day SMA) and 24,250 (previous swing high) need to be watched.
With the budget already announced, now focus shifts to RBI MPC meeting on Feb 7 where rate cut is expected.
