Indian markets slip on oil‑driven inflation worries; Choice Broking sees cautious bias

Market Overview

The Indian stock market posted a tough, holiday‑shortened week as inflation worries rose after a fresh jump in crude oil prices. The Nifty 50 fell from 23,146 to 22,600, a weekly loss of 546 points or 2.36 %. The BSE Sensex dropped from 74,729 to 73,123, losing 1,606 points (2.15 %). The Bank Nifty slipped from 55,844 to 54,287, down 1,557 points or 2.79 %. Mid‑ and small‑cap stocks corrected sharply as investors unwound leveraged bets, while large‑caps held up better.

Sector Moves

IT was the only sector that recovered from early selling and finished the week almost unchanged, helped by clearer earnings outlooks. Consumer durables, metals and realty faced the heaviest selling as input‑cost and margin concerns resurfaced.

Technical Outlook

Choice Broking’s executive director Sumeet Bagadia said the Nifty 50 closed at 22,600, after an intraday dip to 22,372 and a rebound of roughly 200 points, but it failed to turn positive, pointing to persistent selling pressure at higher levels. The daily candle’s long lower wick shows demand at lower levels, yet the broader trend stays weak below the 50‑day EMA near 23,229. Immediate support sits at 22,350‑22,400, with resistance at 22,750‑22,800. RSI is 42.38, just above its 40.28 average, while PCR reads 0.74. Call open interest clusters around 22,500‑22,700 and put open interest around 22,400‑22,500. For Bank Nifty, support is 53,900‑54,000, resistance 54,600‑55,000, and RSI has slipped to 37.73, below its 43.83 average.

Stock Picks

Bagadia recommended three shares for Monday. Eternal traded near ₹317.40, holding a positive primary structure within a higher‑high, higher‑low pattern and bouncing off its 100‑day EMA with a bullish engulfing‑like candle. Apollo Hospitals stayed around ₹7,730, maintaining a strong long‑term uptrend and a higher‑high, higher‑low formation on the weekly chart. Maruti Suzuki India hovered near ₹11,230, showing a bullish reversal after a hammer pattern and defending support at the 11,000 level.

Context

The Nifty 50 index tracks the performance of India’s 50 largest listed companies and often guides market sentiment. Technical levels such as support, resistance and indicators like RSI are widely used by traders to judge short‑term momentum.