Stock market today: Gift Nifty up 88 pts; key levels for Nifty, Sensex & Nifty Bank

India stock markets are likely to open higher on Wednesday after Tuesday’s profit booking. Traders will reach India’s inflation numbers, which eased to 6-year low in April 2025. Besides that, geopolitical tensions and trade deal updates shall guide the street in the near-term.

Nifty futures on the NSE International Exchange traded 87.80 points, or 0.36 per cent, higher at 24,730, hinting at a positive start for the domestic market on Wednesday. Stocks edged up in Asia on Wednesday. Hang Seng & KOSPI were up by a per cent, while Nikkei was down 0.7 per cent in the early trade. ASX 200 saw mild cuts.

The sustained institutional buying interest is expected to aid gradual upward movement in the broader indices, said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. Investor focus remains on evolving geopolitical signals, institutional flows, and upcoming macro data, he said.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq advanced on the softer-than-expected inflation numbers and easing of US-China trade tensions. The S&P 500 rose 0.72 per cent to 5,886.55 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.61 per cent to 19,010.09. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.64 per cent to 42,140.43.

The US dollar index was flat at 100.94, following a 0.8 per cent slide on Tuesday, while spot gold was slightly lower at $3244.79 per ounce. On the other hand, Oil prices held near two-week highs in early trading on Wednesday. Brent crude futures inched down 0.15 per cent to $66.53 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slipped 0.11 per cent to $63.60.

The dip reflects caution among participants despite easing geopolitical tensions and stable global cues, said Ajit Mishra, SVP of Research at Religare Broking. “However, we expect the overall tone to remain positive. The focus should remain on identifying key sectors and themes showing relative strength and using intermediate pauses to accumulate quality stocks,” he said.

Provisional data available with NSE suggest that FPIs turned net sellers of domestic stocks to the tune of Rs 476.86 crore on Tuesday. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) turned net buyers of Indian equities to the tune of Rs 4,273.80 crore.

Nifty & Sensex outlook
Nifty is placed at the key lower supports of 24,600-24,500 levels. The short-term uptrend remains intact and the Nifty is expected to bounce back from near the crucial support of around 24500-24400 levels in the next few sessions. Immediate resistance is placed at 24800 levels, said Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities.

Nifty has formed a bearish candle, which supports temporary weakness. However, the short term texture of the market is still in the positive side, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head-Equity Research at Kotak Securities.

“For traders now, 24,500/81,000 and 24,450/80,800 would act as key support zones. If the market succeeds in trading above these levels, it could retest the level of 24,800–24,900/81,800-82,000,” he added. “On the flip side, below 24,450/80,800, the uptrend would become vulnerable. If the market falls below this level, traders may prefer to exit their long positions.”

Nifty Bank outlook
Bank Nifty remained mixed with profit booking in private banks, said Vikas Jain, Head of Research at Reliance Securities. “We expect the resistance to be near 56,000 levels followed by the weekly pivot at 56,800 while strong support continues to be at 53,500 levels. RSI has retraced as expected along with the underlying index and we expect some consolidation,” he said.

The overall Bank Nifty structure is positive and dips should be used as a buying opportunity. The index is headed towards 56,400 levels in the short term, said Bajaj Broking. “The daily stochastic has generated a buy signal highlighting strength and supports positive bias. Key support for the short-term point of view is placed at 54,500- 54,000,” it said.