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Informist, Tuesday, Apr. 22, 2025

By Akash Mandal

MUMBAI – Benchmark equity indices may move in a narrow range with a positive bias on Wednesday after gaining around 8% over the past six sessions. Sentiment is positive for the Indian market in the near term due to a falling dollar index, higher bond yields in the US, and uncertainty regarding the trade policies of US President Donald Trump, analysts said. However, investors may take out some profits after the sharp gains seen over the past few sessions.

On Wednesday, the Nifty 50 may open flat or slightly higher as indices consolidate for a while, Jigar Patel, senior manager of equity research at Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers, said. "If the Nifty (Nifty 50) sustains above 24100 intraday, it might break out beyond 24400," Patel said. The Nifty 50 has consistently sustained above 23896 points, which was when the index was said to have bottomed out, Patel said. This shows the index might be directionally positive over the longer term, he said.

However, in the shorter term, indices may fall a bit in the next 10-15 days after the sharp gains seen over the last few sessions. There might also be a pull-back in the Nifty Bank as the recent strong performance by the index has pushed it into overbought territory, Patel said. He said the Nifty Bank is likely to find support at 54000 points. On Tuesday, the Nifty Bank ended at a record high of 55647.20 points, up 0.6%. The index has gained for six straight sessions, rising almost 11%.

On Tuesday, the Nifty 50 closed at 24167.25 points, up 41.70 points or 0.2%, and the BSE Sensex ended at 79595.59 points, up 187.09 points or 0.2%. Broader market indices outperformed their benchmark peers, with small- and mid-cap indices closing around 1% higher each.

Ashish Sherigar, technical and derivatives analyst at NVS Brokerage, sees the market trading broadly flat on Wednesday. However, the market direction will also depend on global cues, he said. Analysts pegged support for the Nifty 50 at 24000-23800 points and resistance at 24200-24450 points.

While there may be some pull-back in the shorter term, many analysts are bullish on Indian equities for the longer term. "I expect India to do a good deal with the US, following which the domestic market might outperform other global markets by a wide margin," Vinit Bolinjkar, head of research at Ventura Securities, said. Though fundamentals have not changed much since the sharp correction seen until the previous month, better-than-expected earnings seen so far in the March quarter, led by banks, have boosted sentiment, Bolinjkar said. "We had a bear market for around six months...I expect the bull market to last as much as the bear market and continue at least till November," he said.

On the earnings front, shares of Havells India may rise after the company's bottom line for the March quarter beat analysts' estimates. The company reported a net profit of INR 5.22 billion, up over 16% on year, and higher than the Street's view of INR 4.64 billion. Shares of Tata Communications may also gain after the company reported a consolidated net profit of INR 10.40 billion for the quarter, sharply higher than the consensus estimate of INR 3.21 billion. The company's bottom line was driven by a one-time gain of INR 5.78 billion. HCL Technologies will report its earnings for the quarter later in the day. Commentary from the company's management will provide investors cues regarding demand in the US amid a tariff war, which would be an indicator for the earnings of IT companies in the coming quarters. 

Investors will await the March quarter results of Tata Consumer Products, due on Wednesday. Commentary from the company's management will provide cues on whether demand, especially urban demand, has started to revive. The company's consolidated net profit for the quarter is expected to rise 44% on year to INR 3.1 billion, while revenue is seen rising 16% to INR 45.5 billion, according to the average of the estimates of 12 brokerages. The improvement in the company's earnings is expected to be led by price hikes undertaken during the quarter.  End

Edited by Avishek Dutta

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