Analysts flagged volatility and expect the Nifty to stay rangebound in the near term.

Indian shares slipped in early trade on Friday, dragged by losses in technology, auto and mid-tier stocks, as sectoral breadth remained negative across the board.

At 9:30 a.m. IST, the Nifty 50 fell 0.97% to 24,648, while the Sensex declined 0.96% to 80,908.

Broader markets declined sharply, with the Nifty Midcap index losing 1.9% and the Smallcap index dropping 2%.

Sectoral indices such as Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom (-1.6%), Auto (-1.5%), and IT (-1.4%) led the decline, while FMCG, Pharma, and Healthcare saw relatively smaller losses.

Analysts expect Nifty to trade within the 24,800–25,250 range in the near term, with a close above 25,000 seen as crucial for any sustained upside.

The retail sentiment on Stocktwits remained ‘bearish’. 

Jubilant Ingrevia surged 4.4%, Jubilant FoodWorks rose 0.5%, and Jubilant Pharmova slipped 0.1% after reports that the Bhartia family plans to sell small stakes in these companies via block deals —1.2 crore shares in Ingrevia, 1.32 crore in FoodWorks, and 56 lakh in Pharmova.

Torrent Power climbed 0.7% after its subsidiary, Torrent Green Energy, won an SECI award to establish a 300 MW wind project, which is expected to cost ₹2,650 crore and be completed in 24 months.

ICRA gained 0.6% on news it will acquire fintech firm Fintellix for $26 million to strengthen its tech-based financial services capabilities.

NTPC eased 1.1% despite announcing the commissioning of Unit-3 (660 MW) at the Barh Super Thermal Power Project, bringing its group capacity to over 82 GW.

HCLTech fell 1.2% even as Volvo Cars selected it as a key engineering services partner, expanding its presence in the automotive tech space.

Asian Paints declined 1.2% and Reliance Industries dropped 1.6% after Reliance, via associate Siddhant Commercials, sold 3.5 crore shares of Asian Paints at ₹2,201 apiece.

From a technical standpoint, SEBI-registered analysts flagged increased market volatility due to escalating Middle East tensions and rising crude oil prices, which hit a five-month high near $77 per barrel. 

This geopolitical backdrop is expected to weigh on sentiment and fuel risk-off moves in both equity and commodity markets.

For the Nifty 50, intraday support is seen in the 24,746–24,811 zone, while resistance lies between 25,187–25,238, according to A&Y Market Research. 

Prabhat Mittal marked a slightly wider positional setup, with support at 24,500 and resistance at 25,020, aligning with recent price action that suggests a consolidation zone between 24,500 and 25,250.

In Bank Nifty, A&Y identified support at 55,930–56,050 and resistance at 56,659–56,693, while Mittal pegged positional support at 55,000 and resistance at 56,300.

Globally, Asian markets traded lower as an Israeli attack heightened Middle East tensions, adding to global market pressure already stirred by U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policy shifts.

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