Indian equity benchmarks extended their decline on Thursday, marking a second straight session of losses as selling pressure in IT, auto and financial stocks weighed on sentiment. According to The Economic Times, the Nifty 50 dropped 205.05 points (0.84%) to close at 24,173.05, while the BSE Sensex fell 852.49 points (1.09%) to end at 77,664. The most worrying sign for investors was that Nifty closed below the important 24,200 level, showing weakness in the market. As per Moneycontrol, the Nifty slipping to an intraday low of 24,134.80 weighed down by selling in auto, IT, and realty stocks, along with weakness in the broader indices. The volatility gauge India VIX ended at 18.59, up by 1.58% from the last closing, indicating increased market uncertainty. Market experts attributed the weakness to rising geopolitical tensions and uncertainty surrounding developments in West Asia, with sentiment turning negative amid stalled peace talks between Iran and the United States.
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, noted that Nifty found resistance around the 100 EMA, leading to a fall on Thursday towards lower levels. As reported by The Economic Times, the index found support at the 10 EMA before closing slightly higher. De highlighted that on Friday, if it falls below 24,150 decisively, it might decline towards 23,900. However, if it moves above 24,200, it could rise towards 24,500–24,600. A decisive breakout from the 24,150–24,200 range is required to witness a directional move in the Nifty. According to Moneycontrol, after failing to cross the 61.8% retracement level around 24600, Nifty has witnessed a correction over the past two sessions, indicating a loss of bullish momentum. The 24500–24600 zone remains a key resistance, and unless this band is decisively breached, the range-bound action is likely to continue.
According to The Economic Times, while Sensex ended with declines, dragged by HDFC Bank, HCL Tech and Infosys, the broader market breadth stayed positive. Out of the 4,449 stocks that traded on the BSE on April 23, Thursday, 1,681 stocks witnessed advances, 2,602 saw declines while 166 stocks remained unchanged. The broader market resilience suggests selective buying interest despite the benchmark weakness. As per Moneycontrol, capital goods gained 0.4%, healthcare index rose 1.6%, energy index gained 0.25% and media index surged 0.9 percent, while auto, consumer durables and PSU Bank down 2% each, while IT, realty, metal, private bank down 1% each. The Nifty smallcap index losing 0.6% and Midcap index shed 0.4%, snapping 2-day gains. Pharma stocks gave some relief, with Dr. Reddy's Laboratories surging more than 9 percent, helping the pharma sector close in the green even as most sectors ended in the red. Nifty Auto and Nifty PSU Bank were among the worst hit, both declining by more than 2%, while Nifty IT also fell by 1.25% and Nifty Realty dropped 1.84%. In contrast, Nifty Pharma was the only major gainer, rising more than 2% by the close.
As reported by The Economic Times, Wall Street's main indexes ticked lower on Thursday, as investors awaited clear signals on the U.S.-Iran war. Iran tightened control over the Strait of Hormuz as Tehran released footage of its commandos storming a huge cargo ship that they claimed to have seized on Wednesday, while demanding the U.S. lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports. Most major European indices traded in the red on Wednesday, with UK's FTSE 100, Stoxx 600, Spain's IBEX 35 and Germany's Dax trading lower between 0.10% and 0.90%. According to Moneycontrol, lack of progress in US–Iran negotiations pushed crude oil prices above $100 per barrel, dampening investor sentiment. The oil above $100 hit sentiment and weighed on market performance across sectors. Rising crude oil prices, with Brent Crude near USD 104 per barrel, increased inflation concerns, while tensions in the Strait of Hormuz also worried investors. Weak global cues, especially from US markets, added pressure to the market. At the time of filing this report, Brent crude was trading at USD 103 per barrel, adding to worries over inflation and input cost pressures. Asian markets also reflected a weak trend, with Japan's Nikkei 225 declining by 0.65% to 59,200, Singapore's Straits Times falling by 1.17% to 4,944, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropping by 0.66% to 25,992, and Taiwan's weighted index slipping by 0.44% to 37,714. However, South Korea's KOSPI index bucked the trend, gaining 0.89% to close at 6,475.
According to The Economic Times, Reliance Industries (RIL, ₹437 crore), Britannia Industries (₹353 crore), HDFC Bank (₹290 crore), ICICI Bank (₹282 crore), Amara Raja Energy & Mobility (₹213 crore), TVS Motor (₹175 crore) and State Bank of India (₹168 crore) were among the most active stocks on BSE in value terms. In volume terms, SpiceJet (2.93 crore shares), Vodafone Idea (1.86 crore shares), JP Power (95.10 lakh shares), Reliance Power (76.90 lakh shares), Suzlon Energy (58.75 lakh shares), YES Bank (48.06 lakh shares) and Ola Electric (43.98 lakh shares) were the most actively traded stocks. Among stocks showing buying interest, Fractal Analytics, Oracle Financial Services (OFSS), Jio Financial Services, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Mask Investments, Zodiac Energy and Delta Corp witnessed strong buying interest. As per Moneycontrol, biggest Nifty losers were Trent, M&M, Shriram Finance, SBI Life Insurance, Tech Mahindra, while gainers included Dr Reddy's Labs, Cipla, Jio Financial, Adani Enterprises, Apollo Hospitals. Nearly 140 stocks touched their 52-week high on the BSE, including GE Vernova TD, Welspun Corp, Glenmark Pharma, Data Patterns, Hitachi Energy, Himadri Speciality Chemical, Lupin, Torrent Power, Chennai Petroleum Corporation, Schneider Infra, Granules India, NALCO, Aurobindo Pharma, Adani Green Enery, Timken, HEG, JSW Energy, CG Power, Siemens, Lloyds Metals, among others. In the commodities market, gold prices slipped marginally by 0.52% to ₹1,51,870 per 10 grams for 24 karat, while silver prices declined by 2.53% to ₹2,42,072 per kg.
