Taking Stock: Market extends gain on third day; eyes on Fed policy outcome

Nifty Midcap index soars 2.5% on bargain buying to post biggest intraday rise since June 2024

Indian benchmark indices rallied on third consecutive session on March 19 with Nifty closing above 22,900 amid buying in most of sectors barring IT and FMCG. The investors are awaiting Federal Reserve policy decision later tonight.

At close, the Sensex was up 147.79 points or 0.20 percent at 75,449.05, and the Nifty was up 73.30 points or 0.32 percent at 22,907.60.

Despite mixed global cues, the Indian indices opened with mild gains but with support of broader indices and buying in most of the sectors helped Nifty to inched closer to 22,950, intraday.

Also Read: Market rebound: Why investors are wary of its sustainability

Shriram Finance, HDFC Life, Apollo Hospitals, Tata Steel, Power Grid Corp were among top gainers on the Nifty, while losers were Tech Mahindra, TCS, ITC, Infosys, Britannia Industries.

BSE Midcap and smallcap indices rose more than 2 percent each.

Except IT, FMCG, all other sectoral indices ended in the green with Consumer Durables, Capital Goods, Realty, Oil & Gas, Media, Metal, Power, PSU Bank up 1-2.8 percent.

Nearly 80 stocks touched 52-week high on the BSE, including Muthoot Finance, Interglobe Aviation, Chambal Fertilisers, Coromandel International, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Swaraj Engines, Vadilal Industries, Camlin Fine, Taj GVK Hotels, Gabriel India, JSW Holdings, Axiscades Technologies, Blue Jet, Sarda Energy, among others. Click here to view more

Index	Prices	Change	Change%
Sensex	82,500.82	328.72	+0.40%
Nifty 50	25,285.35	103.55	+0.41%
Nifty Bank	56,609.75	417.70	+0.74%

Nifty 50 25,285.35 103.55 (0.41%)

Fri, Oct 10, 2025

• 1D
• 5D
• 1M
• 3M
• 6M
• 1Y
• 2Y

Biggest Gainer	Prices	Change	Change%
Cipla	1,561.80	48.70	+3.22%

Biggest Loser	Prices	Change	Change%
Tata Steel	173.86	-2.56	-1.45%

Best Sector	Prices	Change	Change%
Nifty PSU Bank	7695.80	126.50	+1.67%

Worst Sector	Prices	Change	Change%
Nifty Metal	10261.55	-94.65	-0.91%

Outlook for March 20

Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities

Today, the benchmark indices continued their positive momentum, with the Nifty ends 73 points higher and the Sensex rising by 148 points. Among sectors, the Defence index outperformed, rallying nearly 5 percent, while the IT index lost the most, shedding over 1 percent.

Technically, after a promising uptrend rally, the market is witnessing range-bound intraday activity at higher levels. It also formed a small bullish candle on daily charts, indicating indecisiveness between the bulls and the bears.

We are of the view that the short-term texture of the market is still on the positive side, but due to temporary overbought conditions, we could see range-bound activity in the near future. For day traders, the key support zones are 22800-22720/75200-75000, while 23000-23100/78800-76000 could act as crucial resistance areas for the bulls. A fall below 22720/75000 would make the uptrend vulnerable.

Aditya Gaggar Director of Progressive Shares

After a strong breakout in the previous session, the Bulls capitalized on the momentum, driving the Index higher throughout the day and settling the trade at 22,907.60 with gains of 73.30 points. Excluding FMCG and IT, all other sectors ended in the green, with Realty and PSU Banking leading the charge. The Broader markets remarkably outperformed the Frontline Index, as Mid and Small-caps surged by 2.63% & 2.43% respectively.

The Index is approaching the 23,000 level, where the 50DMA aligns, creating a strong resistance. A short-term reversal is expected from this point as the market has entered an overbought territory after a sharp climb over the past two trading days. On the downside, the immediate support level is seen at 22,800.

Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities

After showing an excellent upside breakout on Tuesday, Nifty continued with follow-through upside momentum on Wednesday and closed the day higher by 73 points. After opening with a positive note, the market shifted into a gradual upmove amidst range bound movement in the early to mid-part of the session. There was a minor intraday consolidation movement at the highs towards the end and Nifty closed near the highs.

A small positive candle was formed on the daily chart which indicates a breather type market movement after a stellar performance in the previous session. Though, Nifty showed minor upmove on Wednesday, the overall market breadth was very strong with outperformance seen in broad market indices.

Nifty is currently nearing a crucial overhead resistance of around 23000-23100 levels (down sloping trend line connected from the highs of Sept and Dec 24). This is going to be an important hurdle for the market and there is a possibility of some more consolidation or minor dip from the highs in the next 1-2 sessions. Immediate support is placed around 22800-22750 levels.

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