Indian Stock Market Stabilizes Amid Late-Day Selling Pressure

Indian Markets Close Flat on March 26

The Indian markets began the March series on a firm footing, with the Nifty opening above 25,500 and trading in positive territory for most of the session. However, profit booking in the afternoon session wiped out the early gains, leading the benchmark to close on a flat note.

Key Figures:

• Sensex: up 50.15 points or 0.06% at 82,276.07
• Nifty: up 57.85 points or 0.23% at 25,482.50

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Broader indices outperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap index gaining 0.5% and the Smallcap index rising 1%.

Sectoral Performance:

• Auto, healthcare, IT, and metal sectors up 1-2%
• Telecom index down 1%
• FMCG and PSU Bank down 0.4% each

Notable Stocks:

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• SBI, ITC, Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports, and Reliance Industries were among major losers on the Nifty
• Tata Steel, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Auto, Shriram Finance, and Adani Enterprises were among gainers

52-Week Highs and Lows:

• Over 100 stocks touched their 52-week high, including Graphite India, KEI Industries, SAIL, and Tata Steel
• Over 300 stocks touched their 52-week low, including IRFC, Firstsource Solutions, and Hexaware Technologies

Outlook for February 26:

• Sudeep Shah, Head - Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, expects the Nifty to face immediate support in the 25,400-25,350 zone
• Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities, views the 20-day SMA or 25,600/82,500 as an immediate resistance zone for day traders.