Dalal Street saw range-bound trade in the afternoon session after trimming early losses on Friday, October 3, poised to end the holiday-shortened week on a positive note.
At 12 noon, the Sensex was down 4.97 points or 0.01 percent at 80,978.34, and the Nifty was down 9.45 points or 0.04 percent at 24,826.85. About 2147 shares advanced, 1459 shares declined, and 151 shares unchanged.
On the sectoral front, metal stocks shone bright. The Nifty Metal index rose nearly two percent, lifted by strong gains in Tata Steel, National Aluminium Company and Hindalco shares. The advance came as global cues turned supportive for capital-intensive sectors such as steel.
While the Bank Nifty index was flat, the Nifty Private Bank and Nifty PSU Bank indices saw some positive momentum. On the flip side, FMCG, auto, and pharma stocks were in the trade, seeing some selling pressure.
The positive impact of the central bank's bold initiatives to boost credit growth in the economy has the potential to sustain the momentum in the market, particularly in Bank Nifty. But this momentum is unlikely to sustain in the context of the sustained FII selling in the market.
According to VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments, FIIs are likely to further accelerate selling since the market construct provides them the opportunity to sell aggressively. He added, "The huge short position in the market indicates that the bulls will be on the defensive. Aggressive DII buying can provide some support to the market particularly in largecap auto stocks, which have strong fundamental support now."
"From a technical perspective, a sustained move above 24,900 could pave the way for a rally toward 25,000 and 25,150. On the downside, immediate support is placed at 24,750 and 24,600, which may act as potential entry points for long trades," said Amruta Shinde, Technical & Derivative Analyst at Choice Equity Broking.
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