Analysts say the trend remains bullish if 24,800 holds.

A day after the Nifty 50 staged a strong breakout above 25,000, Indian equity benchmarks opened on a cautious note Friday, as traders booked profits and digested recent gains. 

Despite the mild weakness, the Nifty held above the key psychological level of 25,000 in early trade.

By 9:45 a.m. IST, the Nifty 50 was down 25 points at 25,036, while the Sensex slipped 173 points to 82,356.

Broader markets continued their outperformance streak, with the Nifty Smallcap index logging gains for the fifth consecutive session. 

The Midcap index added 0.5%, reflecting sustained investor interest in secondary market names even as frontline indices took a breather. 

Sectorally, autos, real estate, and defense stocks saw fresh buying, while IT and pharma shares faced some pressure. 

Meanwhile, retail sentiment on Stocktwits for the Nifty 50 is ‘neutral’.

Nifty sentiment and message volume on May 16 as of 9:30 am IST. | source: Stocktwits

Among key stock movers, IndusInd Bank fell 2% after  the disclosure of further accounting errors. An internal audit revealed ₹674 crore in overstated interest income across three quarters of FY25, reigniting concerns around transparency. 

Crompton Greaves surged 5% following strong Q4 earnings, with Nomura assigning a 36% upside on growth driven by new launches and categories. 

PB Fintech gained 2% after posting a net profit that more than doubled year-on-year, beating street expectations.

On the downside, Bharti Airtel dropped 3% after 3.1 crore shares changed hands in a block deal, reportedly involving a stake sale by a Singtel subsidiary. 

JSW Infrastructure also declined 2% on reports that Sajjan Jindal Family Trust was trimming its holding via a similar transaction.

Investors will monitor BHEL, Texmaco, Hyundai Motor, Delhivery, Emami as they report quarterly numbers later in the day. 

SEBI-registered advisors shared the day's trade setup on Stocktwits.

From a technical standpoint, SEBI-registered analyst Ashish Kyal flagged 25,120 as a key intraday resistance level. 

A decisive break above this could open the door to 25,300, in line with current bullish momentum in the broader market. 

Kyal identified 24,800 as the immediate support and advises positional traders to maintain trailing stop-losses as long as the index does not close below its previous swing low.

A&Y Market Research sees intraday Nifty resistance between 25,187–25,238 and support in the 24,746–24,811 range. 

For Bank Nifty, resistance lies at 55,443–55,557, with support seen at 54,334–54,470.

Asian markets traded mixed and U.S. stock futures were seen subdued. 

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