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Shares of Punjab National Bank will be in focus today after the bank posted an 11% YoY growth in domestic business to Rs 24.30 lakh crore for Q2 FY24. Domestic deposits rose 11% to Rs 14.17 lakh crore, while domestic advances increased 12% to Rs 10.12 lakh crore.

Bajaj Housing Finance focuses on its debut business update, reporting AUM of Rs 1,02,550 crore, up 26% YoY. Loan assets rose to Rs 89,860 crore. The stock debuted with a 135% gain. Bajaj Finance also reported 92.09 million customers and a 14% increase in new loans, while its deposits grew by 21%.

Earlier, the food and delivery platform had planned a fresh issue of Rs 3,500 crore and OFS of 185.3 million shares.

Immediate support is seen at 25,000, followed by 24,750, while 25,500 is expected to act as the immediate resistance. Traders should closely monitor these key levels, as a break below support could trigger further downside, while resistance at 25,500 may cap any short-term recovery attempts, said Hardik Matalia of Choice Broking.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday as investors awaited the monthly payrolls report and monitored the conflict in the Middle East. New unemployment claims rose marginally. The S&P 500 remains up 19.5% for the year. Rising oil prices impacted energy shares positively. A port strike may affect consumer prices.

Gold prices remain flat but slightly lower for the week as market attention turns to a crucial U.S. payrolls report. Expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut have grown, with recent data suggesting a possible reduction. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions in Lebanon continue to escalate.

The dollar held near its six-week high, driven by safe-haven demand amid Middle East tensions and anticipation of U.S. non-farm payrolls data. Expectations of 140,000 job additions and a steady unemployment rate at 4.2% kept market participants cautious. Meanwhile, the Australian and New Zealand dollars faced weekly declines, and Japanese yen slid on dovish comments from Japanese politicians.

Benchmark BSE Sensex plunges 1,769 points amid West Asia conflict, hitting a three-week low. Key stocks in focus include Godrej Properties, Angel One, and ITC. Technical analysts suggest Godrej in a no-trade zone, bullish prospects for Angel One, and cautious optimism for ITC.