Markets Return After a Long Weekend | What Today Brings

Monday's session was a quiet one. Sensex fell 281 points to close at 77,728 and Nifty settled 78 points lower at 24,287, as IT and FMCG shares weighed even as broader markets held up — Nifty MidCap ended 0.05 per cent higher and SmallCap declined just 0.36 per cent.

The single biggest market event on Monday was off the trading screen entirely — L&T Energy Hydrocarbon Offshore bagged an ultra-mega order worth over Rs 15,000 crore from a prestigious client in the Middle East for the development of multiple offshore facilities. That is L&T's highest order classification and adds meaningfully to an order book that already stood at over Rs 5.5 lakh crore. Today, markets flatlined in early trade with Nifty gaining just 0.05 per cent and Sensex rising 0.06 per cent, amid crude price pressures. Titan Company rose more than 2.5 per cent to lead Nifty gainers in morning trade, while SBI was the top loser. Nifty Realty gained 1.46 per cent and IT rose nearly 1 per cent, while PSU banks led sectoral losses. Sensex prediction for today suggests a sideways to bullish range between 78,000 and 79,200, with strong support at 78,000 to 78,300 and resistance at 78,900 to 79,200. The technical structure has improved after Nifty's decisive close above its 200-day EMA last week, with a buy-on-dips strategy remaining the preferred approach as long as support holds. Key watch today: crude oil trajectory post the Strait of Hormuz developments, SBI's continued weakness in PSU bank space, and whether IT names can sustain Monday's recovery attempt into the close.