Domestic equity benchmarks witnessed a sharp selloff on Friday, with the Nifty declining 150.50 points, or 0.62%, to settle at 24,176.15, while the BSE Sensex dropped 516.33 points, or 0.66%, to end at 77,328.19. According to reports from The Economic Times, the decline was attributed to escalating geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran, weakness in the rupee, and heavy profit-booking in financial stocks. Auto and energy stocks also remained under pressure throughout the session.
The volatility gauge India VIX ended at 16.84, down by 1.32% from the last closing, as reported by The Economic Times. Rupak De from LKP Securities noted that the mood has further deteriorated as the index also moved below the 50 EMA on the intraday timeframe, with the RSI re-entering a bearish crossover on the daily chart. Market analysts indicated that if the Nifty sustains below 24,200 on Monday, the index could witness further correction towards the 24,050–24,000 zone, while a move back above 24,200 may trigger a near-term recovery rally towards 24,350–24,400.
Jain from Centrum Finverse provided a broader technical perspective, stating that the markets remained under pressure for the second consecutive session, with the Nifty forming a small-bodied bearish candle on the daily chart. However, the index managed to hold above its 21-DMA support placed near 24,140 levels on a closing basis. The RSI hovering around 46 levels shows signs of improvement, with momentum indicators and oscillators showing signs of improvement. The broader structure continues to remain sideways to positive, and a gradual recovery towards 24,300–24,500 levels is likely in the near term, while the crucial support of the 50-DMA is placed around 24,000 levels.
Market breadth remained negative with 2,020 stocks witnessing advances, 2,217 seeing declines, while 169 stocks remained unchanged out of 4,406 stocks that traded on BSE on Friday, May 8. Among the most active stocks in value terms were 360 One WAM (₹427 crore), State Bank of India (₹269 crore), and Craftsman Automation (₹211 crore). In volume terms, Vodafone Idea led with 4.02 crore traded shares, followed by YES Bank (2.03 crore) and SpiceJet (1.33 crore). Sectorally, 219 stocks hit their 52-week highs while 23 stocks slipped to their 52-week lows, with notable highs in Acutas Chemicals, Adani Ports, Bajaj Auto, and CG Power and Finolex Cables.
International markets showed mixed performance, with US markets ending in green while European indices declined. Frontline indices on Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow 30 closing at 49,609.16, up 12.19 points (0.02%) and the S&P 500 settling 0.84% higher at 7,398.93. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 1.71% to finish at 26,247.08. However, most major European indices ended with declines, with UK's FTSE 100, French CAC, Germany's DAX, Spain's IBEX 35 and Stoxx 600 falling between 0.3% and 1.3%.
