Nifty, Sensex in red for seventh day as investors eye RBI for fresh cues; O&G, public bank stocks shine

Nifty, Sensex extended their fall for seventh session.

Dalal Street shifted between gains and losses in trade, kicking off the truncated trading week on a choppy note. The Nifty 50 and Sensex settled lower for the seventh consecutive session, as market participants remained cautious ahead of the RBI's monetary policy meeting.

At close, the Sensex was down 61.52 points or 0.08 percent at 80,364.94, and the Nifty 50 was down 19.80 points or 0.08 percent at 24,634.90. About 1,837 shares advanced, 2,163 shares declined, and 171 shares unchanged.

On the sectoral front, Nifty PSU Bank led the gains for the day, with a sharp 1.78 percent rise, followed by Realty up 0.88 percent and Energy higher by 0.69 percent. The Metal index also closed in the green, adding 0.35 percent, while Infra edged up 0.13 percent.

On the other hand, Media was the worst performer of the day, slipping 0.85 percent. Auto, Pharma, and IT also ended in the red, down 0.18 percent, 0.15 percent, and 0.03 percent respectively. FMCG bucked the weakness to post a modest 0.18 percent gain.

With successive lower closes and resistance bands drifting downward, sentiment remains tilted to the downside until the index decisively crosses 25,000 or records a close above its prior day’s high. Former support levels are now acting as resistance, further weakening the technical setup.

Today, Nifty witnessed a mild rebound but faced selling pressure near its 20-EMA on the hourly chart, ending the day with a weak close on the daily chart. Derivative data showed put writing at 24,600 and 24,500 strikes, highlighting immediate support zones, while call writers at 24,700 and 24,800 indicated resistance.

"Based on these technical and derivative cues, the index is likely to trade in a short-term range of 24,500–24,850 with volatility and a sideways-to-bearish undertone. A sustained move above its 50-day EMA is needed to turn bullish," Vatsal Bhuva, Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said.

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