With the way the markets have behaved in the recent past, the Nifty bulls would gleefully take a day which turned out to be in the “not as bad as feared” category. The 22,000 level on the index was firmly under threat early Tuesday morning post the sharp sell-off on Wall Street post the imposition of tariffs and the GIFT Nifty pointing to a sharp gap down.

The gap down happened, the Nifty also broke below the 22,000 mark in opening trades, but for a change, the gap down could not sustain as some recovery came from lower levels. The index huffed and puffed but somehow managed a close above 22,000, not before registering its 10th successive day of losses, the longest losing streak on record for the Nifty.

The recovery was more pronounced in the broader markets where the Nifty Midcap index saw a second straight day of a 1,000-point recovery from the lows. While the Midcap index ended just above the flat line, the smallcaps had a better day, outperforming the market overall.

Defence as a sector did well regardless of the market volatility, carrying on from the surge seen in European Defence stocks overnight. Shares of BDL, Bharat Electronics, and others gained between 3% to 5% as the European Commission unveiled a “Rearm Europe” strategy, which triggered a $15 billion rally in European defence stocks. OMCs too had a good day at the office with crude oil prices falling to a three-month low.

The Nifty has now defended 22,000 on a closing basis for two sessions for two sessions in a row but the question remains as to how long will this resilience sustain. Market veteran Nilesh Shah of Kotak Mahindra AMC highlighted three key factors to identify whether or not the market has made a bottom. You can read more on that here.

A lot will also depend on how the global developments shape up. Most countries have already announced retaliatory tariffs against the US after Donald Trump’s announcement overnight. There is also a danger of the US economy slipping into a recession as stagflation fears are mounting.

Foreign institutions continued to remain net sellers in the cash market as there is no let-off on that front. Domestic institutions remained net buyers since the start of February.

Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities said that the selling momentum appears to have reduced near the psychological support of 22,000 and a sustainable move above the immediate hurdle of 22,260 can result in a further upside bounce. Immediate support now is at 21,950, which is near Tuesday’s low.

Nifty sentiment has not turned positive but there are signs of the index finding support between 21,800 – 22,000 levels. In the short-term, Rupak De of LKP Securities expects a recovery but a decisive fall below 21,800 can change the current equation.

Angel One’s Rajesh Bhosale said that the immediate resistance for the Nifty remains at 22,250, followed by the bearish gap near the 22,450 zone. He advises stock specific opportunities instead of taking aggressive index positions till it remains under pressure.

The Nifty Bank was an outperformer on Tuesday courtesy of contributions from HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, who ended in the green. But the star of the day was India’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), who was not only the top contributor to the Nifty gains, but on the Nifty Bank as well. SBI shares ended 3% higher after a double upgrade from Citi. The index yet again found support between the 47,840 – 47,950 zone and ended higher after the initial gap down. The index closed above the 48,000 mark yet again.

Om Mehra of SAMCO Securities continues to maintain that till the 9-EMA of 48,800 is decisively breached on the upside, the Nifty Bank will lack momentum on any upside bounce. Support remains at 47,800 but the trend will remain choppy for the next few days.

The Nifty Bank has defended its previous demand zone of 47,840 making it a key support despite forming a bullish candle on the daily charts, said Hrishikesh Yedve of Asit C Mehta Investment Interrmediates. 49,000 on the upside is a key hurdle and these levels should be monitored for potential trading opportunities.

What Are The F&O Cues Indicating?

Fresh long positions were seen in these stocks on Tuesday, meaning an increase in both price and Open Interest:

Stock	Price Change	OI Change
Titagarh	2.09%	64.36%
CESC	4.42%	6.91%
Max Financial	1.58%	6.59%
NBCC	1.39%	6.18%
CG Power	3.14%	4.88%

Fresh short positions were seen in these stocks on Tuesday, meaning a decline in price but an increase in Open Interest:

Stock	Price Change	OI Change
Tata Technologies	-4.33%	56.66%
IREDA	-3.16%	46.76%
IIFL Finance	-2.67%	6.29%
Balkrishna Industries	-2.97%	5.83%
PB Fintech	-2.69%	5.66%

These are the stocks to watch out for ahead of Wednesday’s trading session:

• BSE: NSE has changed the weekly expiry day to Monday from Thursday, effective from April 4.
• Grasim Industries: Commences commercial production of Birla Opus paints at Mahad, Maharashtra. The installed capacity of decorative paints sold under Birla Opus is now 1,096 million litres per annum.
• Biocon: Arm gets USFDA final approval for its ANDAs, Lenalidomide Capsules & Dasatinib tablets. Arm has also received tentative approval for its ANDA Rivaroxaban tablets. Lenalidomide is used to treat types of Multiple Myeloma, Mantle Cell Lymphoma & Myelodysplastic Syndromes. Dasatinib is used to treat Philadelphia Chromosome Positive Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. Rivaroxaban is used to treat Deep Vein Thrombosis & Pulmonary Embolism.
• Power Grid: Declared successful bidder for three projects to establish inter-state transmission system on a BOOT basis (Build, Own, Operate and Transfer).
• GE Vernova T&D: Wins three orders worth ₹500 crore from Power Grid.
• Ola Electric: Gets letter from IFCI subject to non-achievement of milestone-1 as per schedule of programme agreement. Ola Electric said that the company is actively engaged with the relevant authorities in this regard and is in the process of filing an appropriate response.
• RVNL: Gets letter of acceptance for a project worth ₹729.8 crore from HPSEBL.
• JSW Energy: CCI approves acquisition of KSK Mahanadi Power Company.
• ONGC: Arm ONGC Green acquires 100% stake in PTC Energy for ₹925 crore. PTC Energy is engaged in the renewable energy business with aggregate operational wind generation capacity of 288.8 MW. PTC Energy operates 157 Wind Turbine Generators (WTGs) across all its wind farms.
• Welspun Specialty: Notified as an L1 bidder for a project worth ₹231.77 crore by BHEL for the supply of 4,050 tonnes of stainless steel seamless boiler tubes for a series of super critical thermal power projects.