The Indian equity markets ended their four-session losing streak on Wednesday with the Nifty gaining 33 points to settle at 23,412 and the Sensex rising 49 points or 0.07% to 74,609. According to provisional closing data, the recovery came after four consecutive trading sessions where the Sensex declined 4.43% and the Nifty 50 fell 3.96%, as reported by ETMarkets. The session was characterized by broad-based gains across telecom, metal, and select industrial stocks, with Asian Paints, Adani Enterprises, and Tata Steel emerging as the top gainers on the Nifty, while Eicher Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Infosys were among the top drags. The recovery marked a significant turnaround from the previous volatile trading period, though volatility persisted through the session amid uncertainty over the market's near-term direction, as noted by CNBC TV18.
While the benchmark indices recovered, banking stocks significantly underperformed, dragging the Nifty Bank index down 99 points to 53,456. As reported by CNBC TV18, Federal Bank Limited fell more than 2% from the day's high, reflecting broader weakness in the banking sector. The rupee hit a record low for the fourth consecutive session, settling at a record low as the US dollar continued to strengthen globally. Despite the government's move to increase gold and silver import duties to curb demand, the domestic currency remained under pressure due to persistent foreign capital outflows. However, the partially convertible rupee was hovering at 95.6600 compared with its close of 95.6800 during the previous trading session, showing some recovery. From the Sensex basket, Asian Paints Ltd, Adani Enterprises Ltd, Tata Steel Ltd, Hindustalco Industries Ltd, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd and Bharat Electronics Ltd were the major gainers, while Eicher Motors Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd, Infosys Ltd, Bajaj Auto Ltd and Shriram Finance Ltd were the biggest laggards. The broader market outperformed with the Nifty Midcap 100 index rising 0.77% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index gaining 0.31%, as reported by CNBC TV18.
The Nifty Metal index surged over 3% to 13,290.80, recovering from a 2.17% decline in the past three trading sessions. Steel Authority of India led the gains with a 14.34% surge, followed by Vedanta (up 6.13%), Hindustan Copper (up 5.61%), NMDC (up 5.28%), Adani Enterprises (up 4.07%), Hindustan Zinc (up 3.94%), National Aluminium Company (up 3.83%), Tata Steel (up 3.77%), Hindalco Industries (up 3.23%) and Lloyds Metals & Energy (up 3.17%). The surge was driven by gold and silver prices jumping after the Indian government hiked import duties on the precious metals to 15%. In the commodities market, Brent crude for July 2026 settlement shed 67 cents or 0.62% to $107.10 a barrel. The US Dollar Index (DXY) was up 0.18% to 98.360, while the US 10-year bond yield lost 0.13% to 4.459.
Despite Wednesday's pullback rally, technical analysts warn of further downside potential for the Nifty. According to CNBC TV18, Nandish Shah of HDFC Securities noted that the broader technical structure remains weak despite the recovery, with the Nifty continuing to trade below its 10-, 20-, 50-, 100- and 200-day DEMA levels, indicating a bearish bias across timeframes. Shah added that the earlier support zone near 23,800 is now likely to act as resistance, while immediate downside support is placed around 23,100. Rajesh Bhosale of Angel One warned that a decisive breach below the 23,100 mark could negate the entire April recovery and open the door for deeper downside in the near term. Rupak De of LKP Securities identified the 23,500 zone as a strong resistance area, with near-term support in the 23,150-23,200 range. Sudeep Shah of SBI Securities said immediate support for Nifty is seen in the 23,270-23,250 zone, with a sustained move below these levels potentially extending the decline towards 23,100 and potentially 22,950 in the short term, while resistance is seen in the 23,530-23,550 range.
The market breadth remained positive with around 1,962 stocks advancing on NSE, while 1,303 declined and 113 remained unchanged, as reported by ETMarkets. However, overall sentiment stayed cautious amid elevated crude oil prices, persistent foreign institutional investor outflows, rupee weakness and lingering global inflation concerns. The US annual inflation accelerated to 3.8% in April 2026 from 3.3% in March, exceeding market expectations of 3.7% and marking the highest level since May 2023. The rise was largely driven by a sharp increase in energy prices amid the Iran conflict, with energy costs surging 17.9% year-on-year. Investors are closely tracking developments related to the proposed meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, where trade-related issues are expected to be discussed. Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 slipped 0.16% to close at 7,400.96 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.71% to 26,088.20, weighed down by losses in technology shares and rising oil prices following stronger-than-expected inflation reading.
