Stock market today: The domestic benchmark indices, Nifty 50 and Sensex, dropped on Thursday after two days of gains driven by the trade agreement with the European Union, as focus shifted to the federal budget set to be announced on Sunday.
The budget is crucial for indications regarding the direction of economic growth and corporate profits in the world’s fastest-growing major economy. The markets will function in a special session on Sunday.
The Nifty 50 decreased by 0.23% to 25,281 . 90, while the Sensex fell by 0.21% to 82,172.29, as reported at 12:24 IST. Indian stocks have experienced a lackluster start to 2026, with the Nifty 50 down approximately 3.6%.
The decline follows the US Federal Reserve’s decision to maintain interest rates, as anticipated, pointing to persistently high inflation and robust economic growth. Investors are not expecting another rate cut from the Fed until the meeting in June.
Increased US interest rates render emerging markets like India less appealing to foreign investors, as they bolster the dollar and the yields on US Treasuries.
Market Views – Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst of HDFC Securities
Nifty 50
After a fine bounce back from the lows in the last couple of sessions, Nifty 50 witnessed selling pressure from near the crucial hurdle of 25,400 levels on Thursday and is currently trading lower by 160 points. The overall chart pattern is indicating a broader high-low range movement like 24,900-25,400 for the market. Any sustainable bounce from near the lower support of 25,200-25,100 is expected to pull Nifty 50 towards the overhead resistance of 25,400 again in the near term.
Technical Picks: Stocks to buy in the short-term
Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities recommends these two stocks to buy in the short-term – Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), and Jupiter Wagons Ltd.
Buy MRPL at ₹172.50, Target ₹183, Stoploss ₹166, Timeframe 1 week
The Oil Refinery stock has witnessed a sharp upside in the last few sessions after a range bound action. The overall chart pattern indicates a formation of higher bottom recently before a bounce back. The volume pattern and daily RSI signals positive outlook for the stock price ahead.
Buy Jupiter Wagons Ltd at ₹323.50, Target ₹340, Stoploss ₹315, Timeframe 1 week
After witnessing a sharp upmove from the higher bottom in the last few sessions, the railway stock has shifted into a consolidation phase on Thursday. The recent upside breakout of down sloping trend line at ₹320 remains intact and the stock price is expected to bounce back from near the support as per change in polarity.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts, experts and broking companies, not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decision.
