Bulls vs Bears: Here's what to expect on Dalal Street today

Indian equity benchmarks on Wednesday finished lower in a volatile trade as losses in automobile and banking stocks countered gains in pharma and consumer shares. The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 168 points or 0.28 per cent to close at 59,029, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 31 points or 0.18 per cent to finish at 17,624 amid high volatility.

Mid- and small-cap shares, however, finished on a strong note as Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.50 per cent and small-cap climbed 0.78 per cent.

Six out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- settled in the red. Sub-indexes Nifty Auto and Nifty Bank underperformed the NSE platform by falling as much as 1.15 per cent and 0.53 per cent, respectively.

On the stock-specific front, Tata Motors was the top Nifty loser as the stock cracked 2.52 per cent to close at Rs 446.20. Bajaj Auto, IndusInd Bank, M&M and Maruti were also among the laggards. In contrast, Shree Cement, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports, Coal India and Grasim Industries were among the top gainers.

The overall market breadth stood positive as 2,132 shares advanced while 1,323 declined on BSE. The market capitalization (m-cap) of BSE listed companies stood at Rs 280.90 lakh crore.

Here's a look at what analysts said about the market movement today:

"Markets languished in negative territory through the session (on Wednesday) tracking weak global cues, as uncertainty over a possible global recession due to likely rate hikes going ahead continued to weigh on sentiment. We are of the view that on the lower side 17,500 (Nifty) would be the key support level while 17,700 could act as a major hurdle for the bulls. Post 17,700 breakout the index could move up to 17,800-17,850. On the flip side, dismissal of 17,500 could increase the selling pressure. Below 17,500, we could expect short term weakness till 17,400-17,300," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.

The European Central Bank would meet on Thursday to discuss rate actions, followed by a US Federal Reserve meeting on September 21.

"Investor sentiments could get a boost as Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman's said that economic growth remains a "priority" for the government as "inflation has come down to a manageable level," said Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities.

"On the technical front, major resistance and support for Nifty50 is 17,800 and 17,450, respectively. In Bank Nifty, major resistance can be seen at 39,900, and support is around 38,900," he added.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said that the US central bank would continue to raise interest rates and it could put "pressure on global markets". Benchmark indices followed the global trend, however, mid- and small-caps rallied with strong outperformance.