Mumbai: Indian markets attempted to steady themselves in early trade on Thursday, with the Nifty showing signs of clawing back initial losses amid mixed global cues and heightened expiry-related volatility. The session coincides with the weekly expiry of Sensex derivatives, adding an extra layer of intraday swings.
Market direction remained sensitive to overnight developments on Wall Street, where fresh selling pressure—largely driven by semiconductor stocks—kept technology shares under strain. That spillover effect continued to weigh on domestic IT counters, which had already witnessed a sharp erosion of nearly Rs 2 lakh crore in market value earlier in the week.
Despite the drag from technology stocks, heavyweight constituents played a stabilising role. Shares of Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank once again helped limit downside pressure, allowing the Nifty to end mid-week trade in the green. Analysts said the ability of these large-cap stocks to absorb selling will be crucial for near-term market stability.
From a technical perspective, the 25,800 zone has emerged as an immediate resistance level for the benchmark index, while the 25,500 mark is being closely tracked as an important support. Any decisive move beyond these levels could set the tone for the next directional trend.
The banking space remained comparatively resilient. The Nifty Bank index held firm for most of the session, though it did see some profit-taking in the final half hour of trade. Market participants noted that banking stocks continue to offer relative strength compared to the broader market.
Meanwhile, attention is firmly on the ongoing earnings season. Stocks such as Trent, NHPC and Tata Power were in focus following their quarterly updates, while several heavyweight companies—including LIC, Bharti Airtel, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders and Power Finance Corporation—are scheduled to announce results later in the day.
In the commodities segment, silver prices saw a sharp correction, plunging nearly 9% on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), adding to volatility across asset classes.
With global cues, corporate earnings and derivatives expiry converging, traders expect choppy conditions to persist in the near term, even as selective buying provides intermittent support to headline indices.
