Stock market today: Sensex, Nifty open in red, media slips by 2% as IT manages marginal lead

Both indices, Sensex and Nifty, opened the day in red. As of 9:30 am, Nifty was down by 0.27%, trading at 24,546.35 points, while Sensex was down by 0.30%, trading at 80,475.63 points.

All broad market indices opened the day in red except for India VIX which climbed up by 2.61%. Only Nifty IT opened the day in green with marginal gains of 0.29%, while media slipped by over 2% in early morning trade.

In early morning trade, LTI Mindtree, Axis Bank, Infosys, Wipro and Tech Mahindra gained significant ground, while Bajaj Auto, Asian Paints, Eicher Motors, Hero Moto Corp and Cipla were amidst the leading laggards.

Asian Paints declared its Q1FY25 results yesterday, which saw its quarterly net profit take a hit of about 25% to stand at Rs 1,170 crore. Infosys, Persistent Systems and Polycab India will be declaring their Q1 FY25 results during the day.

Sameet Chavan, Head Research, Technical and Derivatives at Angel One, notes that there have been no significant developments in the benchmark index, indicating a lack of substantial price movement. Specifically, the price structure has remained stagnant within a narrow range.

The Nifty's trading range has notably shrunk to 80 points, making it more challenging for traders to navigate. However, despite this, the broader markets have continued to see active participation, which has contributed to maintaining a positive undertone for market participants. The support zone for Nifty is at 24,500–24,400, which is expected to see buyers stepping in when there are dips. However, it's not entirely clear if the trend will continue at higher levels, he added.

"Currently, market participants are closely monitoring sectoral rotation and thematic movers, which are playing a pivotal role in driving market trends. It is advisable to continue observing and analyzing these movements until the key indices show a resurgence in momentum. Furthermore, it is essential to maintain a keen watch on global developments following the mid-week holiday, as these factors could significantly influence and establish the initial market sentiment," Chavan noted.

Mr. Aditya Gaggar, Director of Progressive Shares, notes that after oscillating in a tight range, the index settled on July 16th, trading marginally higher at 24,613. Back-to-back DOJI candles at record levels indicate rejection at the higher levels; however, with each passing day, the support level is shifted higher, and now the immediate support is placed at 24,500.

"An early indication from GIFT Nifty suggests a muted opening of the Indian equities, and we believe that the rangebound activity will continue. The same view holds for BankNifty. By registering a new high daily, the FMCG segment is performing as per our expectations, and we continue to maintain a positive stance. In the energy space, gas stocks are likely to extend their positive momentum (IGL and Petronet). After a day of correction, the IT sector resumed its uptrend. We are overweight in the sector (Tech Mahindra). Bearish divergence in the pharmaceutical sector indicates a temporary pause in its uptrend", he said.