Prime End of the Day Summary: View on Market Performance 17 March 2026

Nifty’s Pullback Rally Extends to Second Day on Strong Global Cues

Nifty extended its pullback rally for the second straight day amid extreme volatility, surging 172 points on the Nifty weekly expiry day to close at 23,581. Despite huge volatility, NSE cash market volumes fell sharply by 14% as compared to the previous session.

Eternal, Tata Steel, and M&M topped Nifty gainers. Conversely, Wipro, Cipla, and Tata Consumer Products faced the brunt of the selling pressure, ending as the day’s top laggards.

Excluding Nifty IT and FMCG, all sectoral indices closed green, led by Metal, Auto, and Realty.

Midcaps and Smallcaps mirrored the benchmark’s strength. The Nifty Midcap 100 gained 1%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 0.65%. Market breadth turned positive after four days, with the BSE advance-decline ratio improving to 1.25, signaling broader participation.

The Indian Rupee also continued its upward trajectory for the second day, appreciating by 5 paise to close at 92.37. The domestic currency found support from the equity markets recovery and strength in Asian currencies.

Nifty continued its pull back rally for the second day in the row and closed near day high. A double bottom formation on the intraday charts suggests further upside potential. On the higher side, 23,700 stands as the immediate resistance; a breach above this level could clear the path toward 23,835. Conversely, a decisive break below 23,300 would signal a resumption of the downtrend.