Indian Markets Rangebound; Trent Slides 8%, Defense Stocks Rally

Indian markets remained rangebound at open, with the Nifty index hovering around the 25,400 level.

At 09:40 a.m. IST, the Nifty 50 traded 34 points lower at 25,371, while the Sensex fell 92 points to 83,147. 

Broader markets held in the green, with the Nifty Midcap index gaining 0.1%, while the Smallcap index traded flat.

The retail sentiment on Stocktwits for Nifty has moved to ‘neutral’ from ‘bullish’. 

Sectorally, metals continued to trade under pressure, while real estate, FMCG and pharma stocks saw some buying. 

Trent was the top Nifty loser, falling 8% after management at its AGM stated that its fashion segment is expected to grow approximately 20% in Q1FY26E. Nuvama has downgraded the stock to ‘Hold’, and revised the target price to ₹5,884. 

Defense stocks rallied after the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the purchase of military hardware worth ₹1.05 lakh crore on Thursday. Paras Defence rose 6%, while GRSE, BEL, BEML, BDL, and Midhani gained between 1% to 2%. 

Marico rose 4%, while Bajaj Finance gained 3% as the street reacted to their quarterly updates. 

Emcure Pharma fell 2% after 2.4% equity reportedly changed hands in a block deal.

NBCC traded 2% higher after securing fresh orders worth ₹65.73 crore across Odisha and Karnataka. And Godavari Biorefineries surged 5% after securing a patent in Europe for an anticancer molecule. 

In other news developments, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has banned Jane Street Group entities from participating in the Indian securities market. 

This decision comes after SEBI accused the US firm of market manipulation and issued an interim order to impound over ₹4,840 crore in alleged illegal gains from Jane Street. According to SEBI's order, Jane Street accrued ₹43,289 crore in profits from trading index options on Indian exchanges between January 1, 2023, and March 31, 2025.

From a technical standpoint, SEBI-registered analysts on Stocktwits shared the trade setup. 

Sameer Pande pegged Nifty support between 25,300 and 25,200, with resistance at 25,500-25,800.

A&Y Market Research sees the Nifty intraday resistance between 25,648 and 25,662, and support between 25,308 and 25,322. For Bank Nifty, they peg resistance at 57,028-57,071 and support at 56,467-56,510.

Globally, Asian markets traded mixed, while crude oil prices remained stable. Investors are awaiting clarity on US President Donald Trump's tariff plans for various nations.

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