India's Nifty and Sensex equity indices closed higher on Friday, ending an eight-week losing streak. The Nifty rose 1.3% to 22,520.45 and the Sensex gained 1.23% to 72,472.33, led by IT sector gains. Analysts say the indices must clear key resistance levels for a sustained recovery to be confirmed.
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Indian equity benchmarks closed Friday's session higher, ending a run of eight consecutive weekly losses, though analysts cautioned that whether the rally holds will depend on the indices clearing key technical resistance levels over the coming sessions.
The Nifty finished 1.3 per cent higher at 22,520.45, while the Sensex added 1.23 per cent to close at 72,472.33. Technology shares led the advance, with quarterly earnings reports and expanding overseas business activity lifting investor confidence.
Over the course of the week, the Nifty posted a gain of 0.44 per cent while the Sensex climbed 0.78 per cent. That recovery followed a prolonged pullback spanning eight weeks, during which the Nifty shed 8.7 per cent of its value and the Sensex gave back 8.4 per cent.
Analysts described the latest index gains as tentative evidence of stabilisation, noting that a durable recovery would require those benchmarks to push through overhead resistance levels before it could be confirmed.
Market volatility was expected to continue in the near term, with analysts placing the 22,200–22,250 band as a floor for the Nifty and identifying the 22,750–22,800 range as the next overhead barrier. Analysts noted that a break below 22,200 could reactivate the prevailing bearish trend, while a sustained hold above 22,800 would open a path toward 23,100 and then 23,300.
Analysts tracking the Nifty cautioned that a single week of gains, though it ended a run of eight consecutive weekly declines, does not by itself constitute evidence of a durable change in the index's direction. Continued buying across a broader range of market participants would be required before upward price momentum finds firmer ground, with one closely watched support band for the index sitting between 22,200 and 22,400. A sustained position above that level would put the index on a path toward the 23,000–23,300 range.
Analysts also noted that a fall through the support floor could pull the Nifty down into the 21,700–22,000 range.
After eight consecutive weeks of losses, the Sensex has begun to find its footing, with recent trading pointing toward a steadier trajectory. Analysts noted that the index's weekly chart produced a High Wave candle, a formation that traders generally read as a sign of uncertainty in market direction.
Market technicians placed the 73,000–73,200 band at the forefront of near-term resistance for the Sensex, noting that a sustained push through 73,200 could carry the index toward 74,000 and, if that level held, onward to 74,600, while the 71,000–71,200 range was identified as the floor where buying interest would likely reassert itself. Traders following the index noted that a prolonged hold beneath the 71,000 level could point toward renewed downward momentum, with additional selling activity likely to follow.