: Indian equity benchmarks closed with modest gains after a subdued trading session, as investors remained watchful of the evolving geopolitical situation in West Asia.
The Sensex advanced 273.55 points, or 0.35 per cent, to settle at 77,928.15, while the Nifty gained 66.95 points, or 0.28 per cent, to end the day at 24,317.15.
Commenting on Nifty technical outlook, experts said that the 24,300–24,400 zone continues to remain the immediate and crucial resistance area.
“A sustained move and close above this band will be essential to confirm stronger bullish momentum and could pave the way for an advance towards the 24,500–24,600 resistance zone, where the next significant supply is expected to emerge,” an analyst stated.
“On the downside, the 24,200 zone is expected to act as the first line of support, followed by the 24,000 crucial psychological mark,” a market expert stated.
Mahindra & Mahindra, Coal India and Eicher Motors emerged as the top gainers on the Nifty index, helping the benchmark maintain positive territory despite a mixed market trend.
The broader market, however, underperformed the frontline indices. The Nifty MidCap index ended 0.35 per cent lower, while the Nifty SmallCap index declined 0.56 per cent.
Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Realty index was the biggest laggard, falling 2 per cent during the session.
The Nifty Chemical index also ended in the red and underperformed the broader market.
On the other hand, the Nifty Auto, Nifty Oil & Gas and Nifty Consumer Durables indices outperformed, providing support to the benchmark indices and limiting the impact of weakness in other sectors.
Experts said that market participants remained cautious throughout the session as they tracked geopolitical developments in West Asia, resulting in a range-bound trading pattern with only modest gains in the headline indices.
