Analysts expect near term consolidation as the market looks for clarity on the rate cut path and progress on trade negotiations.

Trade Setup for December 2: Nifty holds key support levels but rupee, IIP may dampen weekly expiry

Nifty Hits Record High, But Fails to Hold Gains

The Indian stock market began the day on a strong note, with the Nifty hitting a fresh record high in early trade. However, profit-booking emerged at higher levels, causing the index to slip below the 26,200 mark by the close.

Key Highlights:

The Nifty consolidated for the third straight session and ended with a marginal loss of 27 points at 26,175.
The index opened nearly 100 points higher and touched an all-time high of 26,325, but failed to hold on to those gains and saw a sharp 200-point intraday reversal.
All four frontline indices made record highs at the open, but the market soon came under selling pressure and erased most of the gains.

Top Performers and Losers:

UltraTech Cement, Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki outperformed
Max Healthcare, InterGlobe Aviation and Bajaj Finance faced strong selling

Market Indices:

The auto, metal, and IT indices closed in the green.
The realty, healthcare, and consumer durables indices ended lower.
The Nifty Midcap 100 finished flat, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 inched up about 0.25%.

Macro Front:

The Indian rupee weakened for the fourth straight session and hit a fresh record low against the US dollar.
The currency closed at 89.56, a decline of about 10 paise.

Global Cues:

Investors await global cues, including manufacturing PMI data from the Eurozone, US, and UK today.
The Eurozone CPI and US JOLTS data are scheduled for tomorrow.

Analysts' Views:

Siddhartha Khemk of Motilal Oswal said the market may remain range-bound in the immediate term.

Vinay Rajani of HDFC Securities expects a strong support at 26,000 to 26,050, while 26,300 remains a key resistance.

Nilesh Jain of Centrum Broking expects a pause in the uptrend with scope for consolidation.

Vatsal Bhuva of LKP Securities pegs immediate support at 26,100 and resistance at 26,300, with positional support at 26,000.