Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Feb 25: The Indian stock market closed Tuesday’s trading session on a subdued note as investors remained cautious amid a mixed market sentiment.
The Sensex ended the day with a modest gain of 147.71 points, or 0.20%, at 74,602.12, after fluctuating between an intra-day high of 74,785.08 and a low of 74,400.37. Meanwhile, the Nifty closed slightly lower, shedding 5.80 points, or 0.03%, to settle at 22,547.55. The index moved within a range of 22,625.30 and 22,516.45 during the session.
Market trends remained mixed, with 31 out of the 50 Nifty stocks closing in the red. Analysts pointed to a lack of strong momentum, with bears maintaining an upper hand. According to Rupak De from LKP Securities, the index remained largely muted apart from a minor correction towards the end, suggesting that any rise toward resistance levels may attract selling pressure.
Among the top losers were Hindalco, Dr. Reddy’s Labs, Trent, Hero MotoCorp, and Sun Pharma, with declines of up to 3.10%. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Nestle India, and Titan recorded gains of up to 2.32%.
The broader market also experienced pressure, with the Nifty Midcap100 index falling by 0.62% and the Nifty Smallcap100 index slipping by 0.44%. Sectoral indices showed a divided trend—while Nifty Auto, FMCG, Select Financial Services, Media, and Consumer Durables registered gains of up to 0.84%, other sectors declined, reflecting the prevailing cautious mood.
From a technical perspective, Hrishikesh Yedve of Asit C. Mehta Investment Limited highlighted that Nifty formed an inverted hammer candlestick pattern on the daily chart, signaling buying interest near the 22,500 level. As long as this level holds, a pullback rally toward 22,700–22,800 is possible. However, this zone will act as a strong resistance, while a dip below 22,500 could trigger fresh selling pressure.
The volatility index, India VIX, declined by 5.03% to 13.72, indicating reduced market fluctuations.
Additionally, the Indian rupee weakened by 50 paise, closing at 87.20 per US dollar compared to 86.70 in the previous session.
Markets will remain closed on Wednesday, February 26, in observance of the Maha Shivaratri holiday.