Sensex, Nifty set to open lower as Trump tariffs come into effect; key levels to track on August 28

Nifty and Sensex ended the session on a weak footing on Tuesday, August 26, after a sharp selloff in bank, pharma, and metal stocks helped bears rule the Street.

Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex are likely to kickstart today’s session on a weak note on Thursday, August 28, extending losses for a second session in a row, as Trump tariffs come into effect. At about 7:55 am, the Gift Nifty was trading at 24,675, lower by 71 points and 0.3 percent.

Nifty and Sensex ended the session on a weak footing on Tuesday, August 26, after a sharp selloff in bank, pharma, and metal stocks helped bears rule the Street.

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Foreign investors (FIIs/FPIs) net sold Rs 6,517 crore into Indian equities on Tuesday, August 26, marking their highest selling since May 20. At the same time, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 7,060 crore as their highest since August 8.

Here are the key levels to watch out for in today’s session

On the daily chart, the index has filled the gap created in the August 18 session and is now trading slightly above the 100-SMA while still holding well above the 200-SMA. However, it remains below all short-term moving averages, including the 9-EMA, 20-EMA, and 50-SMA, reflecting that near-term momentum is under strain.

Looking ahead, support is placed at 24,600 (100-SMA) followed by 24,500, while resistance remains near 24,900–25,000, where short-term moving averages converge. Unless Nifty reclaims these upper levels, the outlook may remain tilted to the downside.

“On the daily chart, the Nifty Bank index has broken below the midline of the Donchian Channel and is now testing the lower band of the channel. The breakdown has brought the index close to its recent swing low of 54,905, which failed to hold as support. A further slip could expose the index to 54,000 or deeper, Dhupesh Dhameja of SAMCO Securities said.

The broader trend may stay fragile as the index is unable to sustain above key short-term averages. Support is now placed at 54,000, followed by 53,800, while resistance is capped at 55,000. A mean reversion cannot be ruled out, but a sell-on-rise approach would be preferable for the coming sessions, he added.

The India VIX surged 3.66 percent to 12.19, indicating a jump in volatility expectations.

The Nifty Put-Call ratio (PCR), which indicates the mood of the market, fell to 0.72 on August 26, compared to 0.88 in the previous session. The increasing PCR, or being higher than 0.7 or surpassing 1, means traders are selling more Put options than Call options, which generally indicates the firming up of a bullish sentiment in the market.

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