Equity benchmark indices end flat, banking stocks top losers

The six-session rally ended on Thursday as the equity market rallied to a close on Thursday with profit bookings in banking and energy stocks. The Sensex ended up 51.73 points lower at 58,298. 80 and Nifty dipped 6.15 points to end at 17,382.

BSE Bankex was the top sectoral loser, falling by 312 pts to 43,346. Sun Pharma, Nestle, Infosys, Dr Reddy's, Wipro and Mahindra Mahindra, and others were among the top Sensex gainers, rising to 2.46 per cent. NTPC, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, Power Grid and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the top losers, falling to 3.10 per cent.

Here's a look at what analysts said about the direction the market is going to take today.

The bearish candle was formed by the index, which indicates the indecisiveness between the bulls and bears. The Nifty has support at 17,250 and the index could drop to 17,150 -- 17,100. A fresh breakout is only possible after 17450 and could move up to 17560 -- 17600 levels. There is no indication of a reverse trend at the highs in the short-term uptrend status of Nifty. The consolidation with high volatility is likely to continue for the next 1 -- 2 sessions. The immediate support is at 17,200 and the strong resistance to be watched at 17,500 levels. A decisive move above the hurdle could pull Nifty towards the next upside trajectory of 17,800 levels. The index will soon fall towards the 16,750 -- 16,800 zone if the immediate support for the Nifty is seen at 17,121 and below the same. If Nifty's support at 17,121 holds, then expect the benchmark to shoot to the moon with targets at 17,557 and then 18,100.