The Indian stock market started on a flat note on Friday, March 21, due to mixed signals from global markets and early selling pressure in IT sector stocks.
At 9:31 AM, the BSE Sensex was marginally down by 7.77 points, or 0.01%, trading at 76,340.29. Similarly, the NSE Nifty slipped by 2.25 points, or 0.01%, to trade at 23,192.90.
However, Nifty Bank showed some strength, gaining 60.10 points (0.12%) to reach 50,122.95. The Nifty Midcap 100 index added 86.95 points, or 0.17%, to trade at 51,231.35, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index rose by 93.10 points (0.59%) to 15,951.15.
Market Outlook and Key Levels
Market experts pointed out that Nifty may find support at 23,100, followed by 23,000 and 22,900 levels. “On the upside, 23,250 could act as an immediate resistance, followed by 23,350 and 23,400,” said Hardik Matalia, a market analyst at Choice Broking.
Market Rally Boosted by Fed Signal
On Thursday, Indian equities surged to their highest levels in over a month after the US Federal Reserve indicated that it might implement additional interest rate cuts later this year.
“Nifty closed above its 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) for the first time since February 5, 2025. After a strong rally of 1,200 points from recent lows, short-term traders may need to review their bullish positions, as Nifty now faces a strong resistance zone between 23,200 and 23,400,” said Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities. He added that the market’s support level has shifted upward to the 22,950-23,000 range.
Top Gainers and Losers
In the Sensex pack, IT stocks such as Infosys, TCS, HCL Tech, and Tech Mahindra faced early losses. Other major laggards included Zomato, Titan, IndusInd Bank, L&T, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank.
On the other hand, Bajaj Finance, Nestle India, Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Finserv, and Adani Ports emerged as the top gainers.
Global Market Performance
In the U.S., major indices ended in the red during the last trading session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped by 0.03% to close at 41,953.32, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.22% to 5,662.89, and the Nasdaq fell 0.33%, closing at 17,691.63.
Asian markets showed mixed performance. Markets in Hong Kong, Jakarta, and China traded in the red, while Japan, Seoul, and Bangkok indices posted gains.
FII and DII Activity
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their buying spree, purchasing equities worth Rs 3,239.14 crore on March 20. In contrast, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold equities worth Rs 3,136.02 crore after being net sellers for the past 29 trading sessions.
The market is expected to remain volatile, with global cues, FII activity, and sector-specific trends influencing the overall sentiment.
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