Oil marketing stocks were in limelight on Thursday on account of fall in Brent crude price after US inventories expanded and discord within OPEC+ forced the group to delay its upcoming meeting. Sugar stocks too witnessed fresh buying due to improved domestic demand. Two-wheeler stocks like Hero Motocorp , Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor were also in focus amid strong sales growth witnessed during the festival season and rating agency’s rising growth forecast.

While the secondary market saw a range-bound move, heightened action was seen in the primary market.

“We are seeing strong response to the IPOs that opened this week of which IREDA was subscribed 36x, while Tata Technologies and Gandhar Oil were subscribed 13x until now,".

Overall, the market is likely to trade sideways in the near term with stock specific action in the broader space.

Nifty remained range-bound while encountering resistance around 19,850.

On the hourly chart, an ascending triangle is forming, suggesting a probable upside breakout. Sentiment is anticipated to stay sideways as long as it holds above 19,700. However, a drop below 19,700 might exert downward pressure on the Nifty.

Resistance at the higher end is established at 19,850; a significant move beyond this level could trigger a rally towards 20,200 in the short term.