Nifty set for a quiet start amid mixed global cues - key levels to track on November 3

Muted start likely for Indian markets as investors eye festive sales and Q2 earnings

Indian markets are likely to open on a quiet note on November 3, taking cues from mixed global trends. As of 7:51 am, GIFT Nifty was hovering around 25,854, down by 46 points or 0.2 percent.

Last week, the Nifty index ended its four-week winning run, slipping 0.28 percent for the week. The index closed 155 points lower at 25,722. Except for the Nifty PSU Bank and Oil & Gas indices, all other sectoral indices finished in the red. Media, Metal, and Healthcare were among the biggest drags, signalling a broad-based weakness in market sentiment.

Analysts expect the markets to trade within a narrow range this week, though a slight positive bias could emerge as investors monitor global cues, foreign fund flows, and upcoming domestic data releases.

The focus this week will be on monthly auto sales data — an important festive-season barometer — along with quarterly results from major companies such as SBI, Bharti Airtel, Titan, and Tata Chemicals.

So far in 2025, total foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows through the primary market have reached Rs 54,292 crore. This contrasts sharply with the total sell figure through exchanges, which stood at Rs 1,94,201 crore at the end of October.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said:

“The aggregate buy figure through the exchanges in October doesn’t necessarily mean FIIs will remain in buy mode going forward. The relatively higher valuations in India could prompt them to sell again. Their stance will depend on how India’s corporate earnings growth pans out.”

He added that there are now visible signs of earnings recovery. “If strong demand continues, earnings will improve, making valuations more reasonable. In such a scenario, FIIs are likely to turn buyers again,” Vijayakumar said.

From a technical perspective, a sustained move above 26,000 could trigger buying interest towards the 26,100–26,300 levels, according to Rajesh Palviya, Senior Vice President, Research (Head Technical & Derivatives) at Axis Securities. “For the current week, we expect Nifty to trade between 26,000 and 25,500 with a mixed bias. The weekly RSI remains above its reference line, indicating an overall bullish undertone,” he noted.

Globally, cues remain mixed. Asian markets were trading unevenly this morning after Wall Street ended higher on Friday. In the US, the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.61 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.26 percent, and the Dow Jones closed marginally higher. Investors in Asia are also reacting to China’s latest manufacturing activity data after RatingDog published its October purchasing managers’ index.