On June 10, the NIFTY 50 edged lower by 27.15 points or 0.12% to close flat at 23,214.95, while the SENSEX ended flat at 73,983.18, up by 0.09% or 64.42 points. According to reports from The Economic Times, the NIFTY Midcap 100 gauge fell by 1.49% or 905.52 points to close at 59,810.20, indicating broader market weakness beyond the benchmark indices. During the session, the NIFTY touched a high of 23,425.35 and a low of 23,184.60, while the SENSEX surged as much as 694.25 points during the day to touch an intraday high of 74,613.01 before losing momentum in late trade. The renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran dampened investor sentiment, capping potential gains in the equity markets. However, the underlying market picture reveals significant weakness beneath the surface headlines.
The market is experiencing a one step forward, two steps back mode as the NIFTY continues to struggle with resistance above the 23,400 mark. According to CNBC TV18, Wednesday's high of 23,424 becomes the first level on the upside for the Nifty to recapture, while the 23,150 - 23,100 zone should act as support in case of further downside. Monday's low of 23,070 is the line in sand for the bulls, below which downsides towards 23,000 or even 22,700 become possible for the index. Nandish Shah of HDFC Securities noted that the Nifty continues to remain in a downtrend, trading below all key moving averages, warning that a decisive close below the 23,070 level could trigger further downside towards 22,800-22,700 zones. However, CNBC TV18 reports that Nandish Shah observed the formation of a double bottom pattern on the Nifty's daily chart, thereby underlining the significance of the 23,070 level on the downside. For any meaningful upside, he wants the Nifty to close above the recent swing high of 23,425, with any further weakness below 23,070 potentially opening doors to 22,800-22,700 levels. Shrikant Chouhan of Kotak Securities believes 23,350 will act as an immediate resistance level, stating that "As long as the index trades below 23,350, weak sentiment is likely to continue." For day traders, the 23,300 zone will act as an immediate resistance, with only crossing these levels potentially opening doors to the Nifty bouncing back towards the 24,450 - 24,500 zone.
Despite the flat benchmark indices, the broader market showed concerning signs of weakness. Of the roughly 4,176 stocks that traded on BSE, 2,653 ended in the red, creating a breadth ratio of nearly 2:1 in favour of decliners. The Nifty Midcap index fell approximately 1.5% and the Nifty Smallcap index dropped around 1.3%, sharply underperforming the NIFTY50. The SENSEX gave back over 660 points from its intraday high, a significant intraday swing that underscores the market's fragility beneath the surface. This divergence — large-caps near flat while mid/small-caps bleed — often signals selective institutional selling or risk-off rotation rather than a broad market correction. Sectoral participation remained largely weak and choppy, with energy, realty, and metal stocks emerging among the top losers, while FMCG and select banking counters displayed relative resilience. Traders tracking mid- and small-cap positioning should monitor OI buildup and FII-DII flows over the next 1-2 sessions for confirmation of the trend.
The Nifty IT index has been on a selling spree ever since the first two days of June, falling for the seventh day running on Friday and declining over 10% during this period. For the week so far, the Nifty IT index is the joint-worst performing index along with the Nifty Energy, both of which are down over 4%. As reported by CNBC TV18, the uncertainties of the war persist, but the bulls also fear a weaker-than-anticipated monsoon, and its subsequent impact on the economic activity in the future. With most domestic triggers now out of the way, the market lacks any significant directional cue, more so because it has not reacted to crude prices falling below the $90 mark, albeit briefly. Ajit Mishra of Religare Broking noted that profit booking in the broader indices, which had been outperforming earlier, is adding to participants' concerns. The absolute lack of conviction at higher levels is not something that the bulls will be happy with, as every time there appears to be a directional trend emerging, supply or support emerges at those levels and the index finds itself back in the range it has been in all through June so far.
Hindalco Industries (-3.48%), Coal India (-3.41%), Infosys (-2.97%), ONGC (-2.75%), Eternal (-2.39%), SBI Life (-2.29%), HDFC Life (-1.98%), Tata Steel (-1.91%), Tata Motors PV (-1.76%), and Jio Financial Services (-1.73%) were among the top losers on Wednesday. As reported by The Economic Times, the selling pressure was primarily driven by concerns over geopolitical tensions and their potential impact on commodity-linked sectors. Oil India lost 9.45%, significantly contributing to the decline in the NIFTY Midcap 100 index. Several large-cap constituents reversed sharply from intraday peaks, with HCL Technologies falling 1.81% from its day's high of ₹1,152.20, Bharat Electronics down 1.64% from ₹415.10, and HUL declining 1.59% from its high of ₹2,204.80. Infosys was the top drag with a 28.02-point impact, while Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and Hindalco also weighed on the index. The heaviest intraday reversals were concentrated in IT (HCL Tech, TCS, Tech Mahindra), defence/capital goods (BEL, L&T), and financials (HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance), which are typically the first segments to see institutional profit-booking when sentiment turns.
On the positive side, Nestle India (1.98%), Hindustan Unilever (1.73%), Axis Bank (1.71%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (1.68%), ICICI Bank (1.44%), ITC (1.31%), HDFC Bank (1.16%), Max Healthcare (0.70%), JSW Steel (0.65%), and Kwality Wall's (0.61%) emerged as the top gainers. According to The Economic Times, shares of Hindustan Unilever advanced on elevated volumes as investors focused on defensive sector bets amid escalating geopolitical tensions and a stable outlook for the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. JP Morgan analysts noted that the premiumization trend is expected to fuel growth in HUL's gross margins. The FMCG outperformance on a day when broader markets fell sharply is a classic defensive rotation signal, with the FMCG cohort's resilience suggesting defensive demand returned late in the session. This defensive rotation is a classic late-cycle signal, with FMCG and private banks the only sectors in green while the market shows classic late-cycle defensive rotation. Market breadth remained weak with 1,038 stocks advancing, 2,258 declining and 82 remaining unchanged out of 3,378 stocks traded on the NSE, with 82 stocks touching their 52-week highs while 50 stocks hit their 52-week lows. Index contribution data showed banking stocks supporting the Nifty, with HDFC Bank contributing 35.32 points and ICICI Bank adding 31.22 points, followed by L&T and Hindustan Unilever also supporting gains with contributions of 9.13 and 7.83 points, respectively.
