Domestic equity benchmarks closed marginally lower on Thursday as weakness in IT and consumer-facing stocks offset gains in auto, metal and realty counters. The broader market remained rangebound through the session, with buying support in select cyclical sectors failing to lift overall sentiment. The Nifty 50 slipped 4.30 points to settle at 23,654.70, while the BSE Sensex declined 135.03 points, or 0.18%, to end at 75,183.36.
Meanwhile, the volatility gauge India VIX ended at 17.82, down by 3.34% from the last closing.-
Here's how analysts read the market pulse:
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said the index is facing resistance near the 20EMA on the daily timeframe, indicating continued selling pressure at elevated levels. Meanwhile, RSI remains in a bearish crossover and is trending lower, reflecting weakening momentum, he added.
"The overall sentiment continues to remain weak, with the possibility of further downside in the short term. On the lower end, 23,400 is likely to act as a crucial support level; a decisive breach below this mark may trigger panic selling in the market. Conversely, the index needs to move decisively above 23,800 to witness a directional rally and improve the near-term sentiment," De said.
US markets
Frontline indices on Wall Street traded in the red on Thursday as chip maker Nvidia's earnings, Wednesday, failed to inspire the Street’s confidence. Moreover, a jump in crude oil prices also weighed, negating the impact of a fall on weekly jobless claims amid a resilient labour market.
While Dow 30 traded at 49,930.67 around 10:50 a.m. EDT (8:20 pm IST), falling 78.68 points or 0.16%, the S&P 500 was 0.46% (33.98 points) lower at 7,398.99. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down by 175.41 points or 0.67% to hover around 26,094.95 around this time.175.41.
European Markets
Major European indices traded mixed on Thursday around 3:43 p.m. BST (8:29 India time). UK’s FTSE 100 and Stoxx 600 were up 0.30% and 0.25%, respectively while Germany's Dax, French CAC and Spain's IBEX 35 fell up to 0.27% .
Tech View
Decoding the Nifty charts, Bajaj Broking said the index has formed a bearish candlestick pattern with a higher high & a higher low on the daily chart signaling selling pressure at higher levels around the recent breakdown area of 23,800-23,900. "Going ahead, index to extend the last seven sessions consolidation in the range of 23,200-23,900. Only a move above the recent breakdown area of 23,800-23,900, will signal a pause in the overall corrective trend," the brokerage said.
"Index need to start forming higher high and higher low on a sustained basis in the daily chart and a move above the breakdown area of 23,800-23,900 to signal strength. Nifty has key support at 23,200-23,000 levels being the confluence of the lower band of the 8th April bullish gap area and the 61.8% retracement of the previous pullback (22,182-24,601)," the brokerage said further.
Most active stocks in terms of turnover
MTAR Technologies (Rs 473 crore), Lenskart Solutions (Rs 433 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 311 crore), Reliance Industries (RIL, Rs 193 crore), Jubilant Foodworks (Rs 192 crore), State Bank of India (SBI, Rs 176 crore) and Bharti Airtel (Rs 157 crore) were among the most active stocks on BSE in value terms. Higher activity in a counter in value terms can help identify the counters with highest trading turnovers in the day.
Most active stocks in volume terms
Vodafone Idea (Traded shares: 4.33 crore), JP Power (Traded shares: 1.39 crore), YES Bank (Traded shares: 1.05 crore), Lenskart Solutions (Traded shares: 86.83 lakh), SpiceJet (Traded shares: 68.75 lakh), Suzlon Energy (Traded shares: 48.99 lakh) and Ola Electric (Traded shares: 47 lakh) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on BSE.
Stocks showing buying interest
Protean eGov Technologies, Grasim Industries, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, Electrotherm (India), United Foodbrands, Modi Naturals and Genesys International Corporation were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.
52-week high
Today, 124 stocks hit their 52 week highs while 39 stocks slipped to their 52-week lows. Among the ones which hit their 52 week highs included Acutaas Chemicals, Angel One, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, Bajaj Consumer Care, Centum Electronics, Grasim Industries and Hindalco Industries.
Stocks seeing selling pressure
Among the large cap names were Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Tech Mahindra. Other stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were Ola Electric, Jubilant Foodworks, EPACK Durable, Brand Concepts, Wonder Electricals, Gokul Agro Resources and Flair Writing Industries.
Sentiment meter favours bears
While Sensex settled with declines dragged mainly by Reliance Industries (RIL), Bharti Airtel and Infosys, the broader market breadth stayed mildly positive. Out of the 4,362 stocks that traded on the BSE on May 21, Thursday, 2,358 stocks witnessed advances, 1,813 saw declines while 191 stocks remained unchanged.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)
