The Indian equity markets ended the March series on a healthy note, with the Nifty reclaiming 23,500. The index bounced back on Thursday after a session of weakness on Wednesday.

The Nifty opened on a negative note and moved up from the lows in the early part of the session. It later shifted into a narrow range movement which lasted till the end. Eventually, the index closed the day higher by 104 points at 23,592.

The broader market sentiment remained resilient on the back of continued buying interest, with Nifty Midcap100 and Smallcap100 gaining 0.5% and 1.3%, respectively.

Amongst the sector, Nifty PSU Banks, Media, OIL/GAS and Reality were major gainers while Nifty Auto, Pharma and Healthcare ended in the red.

The global market trend was weak, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 25% tariff on foreign-built cars and light trucks from April 2. Auto and auto ancillary stocks were under selling pressure, following the announcement; pushing Nifty Auto Index down by nearly 2%.

Markets will track the US Q4 GDP data to be released later today and the US CPI for February to be released on Friday.

Investors are now awaiting further details on the US tariff measures and the broader economic outlook ahead of President Trump’s deadline. Analysts expect market to remain subdued unless there are notable changes on the global front.

Friday will also be the end of the January-March quarter, which will also mark the end of financial year 2025.

Both foreign investors and domestic institutional investors remained net buyers in the cash market on Thursday.

– FII net bought ₹11,111 crore

– DII net bought ₹2,518 crore

What do the Nifty 50 charts indicate?

Chandan Taparia of Motilal Oswal said the strong momentum from last week continued into Monday as the Nifty opened with a gap-up around the 23500 zone, followed by sustained buying on every dip. The index extended its gains, making a high of 23869 on Tuesday.

However, from the second half of Tuesday, some profit booking emerged at higher levels after a sharp rally of over 1000 points.

Today, the index made a low near the 23,400 zone found support at the 200-EMA and bounced back strongly to the 23,600 zone, clearly indicating the strength of the bulls.

“Now it has to hold above 23,400 zones for an up move towards 23,800 then 24,000 zones while supports can be seen at 23,400 then 23,200 zones,” Taparia added.

Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities said the near-term uptrend of Nifty remains intact. Having bounced from the lows, the Nifty could now encounter the key overhead resistance around 23,850 levels in the short term. Immediate support is placed at 23,400 levels.

According to Rupak De of LKP Securities, the short-term sentiment may remain positive, with a potential move toward 23,800 if it sustains above 23,600. On the downside, support is placed at 23,400.

Here are the stocks to watch ahead of Friday’s trading session:

– UltraTech Cement: Commissions Brownfield Clinker Capacity Of 3.35 MTPA In Maihar, Madhya Pradesh. Commissions Brownfield Expansion Of Grinding Unit At Dhule, Maharashtra With Capacity Of 1.2 MTPA.

– Force Motors signs contract for an order of 2,978 vehicles for Defence Forces.

– Asian Paints: Arm to set manufacturing facility for Vinyl Acetate Ethylene Emulsion (VAE) & Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) and Ethylene storage & handling facility in Dahej, Gujarat. Expected investment has been increased to ₹3,250 crore from ₹2,506 crore.

– UCO Bank closes QIP, issue price at ₹34.27 per share.

– Zen Technologies bags ₹152 crore order from ministry of defence for integrated air defence combat simulator.

– AB Fashion: NCLT approves scheme of arrangement among company & Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands.

– DCM Shriram board approves setting up of 12 TDP integrated compressed biogas plant at company’s Ajbapur unit. Company to invest up to ₹131.30 crore in setting up of the plant.