Domestic benchmark indices closed modestly higher on Wednesday, supported by gains in banking and auto counters, although weakness in IT and FMCG shares limited the market’s upside. The Nifty 50 advanced 41 points, or 0.17%, to end at 23,659, while the BSE Sensex climbed 117.54 points, or 0.16%, to settle at 75,318.39.
Meanwhile, the volatility gauge India VIX ended at 18.44, down by 1.25% from the last closing.
Here's how analysts read the market pulse:
Commenting on the Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said Nifty's 20EMA and 50EMA are in a bearish crossover, while the momentum indicator RSI is also in a bearish crossover. The index has been consolidating within the range of 23,400 and 23,800 for the last few days and the index has failed to reclaim the 20EMA, he said.
"Overall, sentiment remains weak, and this weakness may continue in the short term as long as the index stays below 23,800. On the other hand, a decisive move above 23,800 could trigger a strong rally. At the lower end, a fall below 23,400 may induce panic in the market," De said.
US markets
Wall Street's main indexes rose on Wednesday, as a rebound in chip stocks ahead of Nvidia's quarterly results lifted sentiment after a recent selloff driven by rising bond yields and inflation concerns.
Nvidia, the world's most valuable company and the centerpiece of the global AI boom, rose 2%. The company'sresults are expected after the closing bell.
Investors will crunch the numbers for signs that appetite for AI infrastructure remains strong enough to support lofty valuations across the technology and AI space.
The broader chip sector also advanced on Wednesday. Marvell Technology rose 7.8%, Intel gained 6.3% and Micron Technology added 3.6%.
Brent crude futures extended losses on the day, falling 5.6% to $105.13 after U.S. President Donald Trump said that negotiations with Iran were in the final stages, though investors remain wary about the outcome of peace talks as disruption to Middle Eastern supply continues.
European Markets
European shares finished near two-week highs on Wednesday,aided by defence and technology stocks, as investors awaited a critical earnings report from U.S. chip giant Nvidia, and while caution remained on the U.S.-Iran standoff in the Middle East.
The pan-European STOXX 600 ended 1.5% higher at 620.29 points, with major indexes in the region including Germany and France up over 1.4% each
UK shares closed higher on Wednesday after a softer-than-expected April inflation reading tempered some interest-rate-hike bets, while a drop in crude oil prices and stabilizing government bond yields also offered some respite.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed 1% higher at 10,432.3 points, while the midcap FTSE 250 climbed 1.2%. Both indexes ended at their highest closing levels in around two weeks.
Tech View
Decoding the charts, Nilesh Jain, Vice President - Head of Technical and Derivative Research at Centrum Finverse said the Nifty opened on a gap-down note but witnessed a strong rebound from the support zone near 23,400 levels, eventually forming a bullish candle on the daily chart. The immediate hurdle continues to be the 50-DMA, placed around 23,730 levels, and a decisive breakout above this mark is required for the next leg of the upward move towards 24,000 levels, he said.
"The broader structure remains range-bound, and we expect the Nifty to trade within the 23,300–24,000 range, with these levels acting as key support and resistance respectively. Meanwhile, the volatility index, ‘INDIAVIX’, cooled off by 2% to 18.30 levels, and any further decline in volatility is likely to provide additional comfort to the bulls," Jain added.
Most active stocks in terms of turnover
GMR Airports (Rs 506 crore), Maruti Suzuki (Rs 366 crore), MTAR Technologies (Rs 197 crore), Lenskart Solutions (Rs 196 crore), Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (Rs 193 crore), Timken India (Rs 150 crore) and Hyundai Motor India (Rs 106 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
GMR Airports (Traded shares: 5.37 crore), Vodafone Idea (Traded shares: 3.89 crore), SpiceJet (Traded shares: 98.79 lakh), Ola Electric (Traded shares: 53.21 crore), Indraprastha Gas (IGL, Traded shares: 70.10 lakh), South Indian Bank (Traded shares: 62.73 lakh) and JP Power (Traded shares: 57.69 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on BSE.
Stocks showing buying interest
Deccan Gold Mines, GE Vernova T&D India, Apollo Micro Systems, Zydus Lifesciences, Jay Bharat Maruti, United Foodbrands and KDDL were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.
52-week high
Today, 91 stocks hit their 52 week highs while 40 stocks slipped to their 52-week lows. Among the ones which hit their 52 week highs included Acutaas Chemicals, Apollo Micro Systems, Aurobindo Pharma, Biocon, Dhanlaxmi Bank, EMA India and Hemant Surgical Industries.
Stocks seeing selling pressure
Among the large cap names were Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Tech Mahindra and Eternal. Other stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Mercantile Ventures, PI Industries, Kirloskar Industries, Atlantaa, UCAL and Sasken Technologies.
Sentiment meter favours bears
While Sensex settled with minor gains aided mainly by Reliance Industries (RIL), Axis Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), the broader market breadth stayed mildly negative. Out of the 4,310 stocks that traded on the BSE on May 20, Wednesday, 2,035 stocks witnessed advances, 2,084 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)
