The benchmark Nifty 50 index snapped a three-day losing streak on Wednesday, driven by broad-based buying across sectors. The market recovered about half of Tuesday's losses, with frontline indices rising up to 1%.



Nifty opened 60 points higher, buoyed by strong cues from Asian markets, and maintained its upward momentum for the first 90 minutes, hitting an intraday high of 24,946.



However, profit-booking at higher levels triggered a sharp 200-point drop. The index then bounced back from its intraday low to close 130 points higher at 24,813.



Nifty reclaimed the 24,800 mark, while the Sensex crossed 81,600, led by gains in ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Reliance Industries.



Following yesterday's sharp decline, the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices bounced back alongside the benchmark. The Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.78%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 Index rose by 0.38%.



Defence stocks saw some revival in today's trading session after a bout of profit booking in the earlier part of the week. The revival was led by three stocks in particular - Data Patterns, Bharat Electronics and Garden Reach Shipbuilders.



State-run Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) was the top Nifty50 gainer, rising 5% as most brokerages raised their target prices, after the company shared bullish guidance on both revenue and order inflow for the new financial year.



Trident shares climbed 16% today, in response to their March quarter results. The company's net profit more than doubled from last year on a consolidated basis to ₹133.2 crore from ₹56.6 crore last year. Trident's profitability was aided by a sharp reduction in its finance costs, which fell to ₹2.6 crore at the end of the March quarter, from ₹49 crore during the same quarter last year.



Going ahead, market attention will shift to earnings reports from ITC, Sun Pharma, Grasim Industries, Container Corporation of India, and GMR Airports, among others.



Additionally, private lender IndusInd Bank, which released its earnings after market hours today, will also remain in focus. The bank reported a net loss of ₹2,328 crore for the January-March period as accounting issues reported earlier and stress in the microfinance portfolio led to the balance sheet taking a hit.



On Wednesday, both domestic and foreign investors were net buyers in the cash market.







Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal expects markets to remain firm, supported by healthy domestic macros, decent corporate earnings, and prospects of an above-normal monsoon this year. Institutional buying in broader markets should provide further support, he said.



Nandish Shah of HDFC Securities said that Nifty traded within yesterday’s price move. The index appears to be in a consolidation zone, which would be decisively violated by a move above 25,000 or below 24,500.



According to Rupak De of LKP Securities, the Nifty remained confined within the range of the previous session, suggesting that traders are staying on the sidelines awaiting a clear signal.



"A fall below 24,700 could trigger a market correction, potentially leading to a decline toward the 21-EMA, which is currently positioned around 24,428. Overall, sentiment is likely to remain sideways to bearish as long as the Nifty stays below 25,000. However, if the Nifty reclaims the 25,000 level, the sentiment may turn bullish, and short bets would lose their appeal," De said.



The Nifty Bank index ended the session at 55,075.10, up 0.36%. The index is currently hovering near the edge of its 9-EMA and 20-EMA, which could act as either support or resistance, depending on the direction of the next move.



"The index is expected to remain range-bound unless a breakout occurs beyond this broader consolidation zone. Until such a move materialises, a clear directional confirmation remains pending. The resistance is expected near 55,400, which also coincides with the hourly super trend level," said Om Mehra of SAMCO Securities.