Indian equity benchmarks ended lower on Wednesday, August 12, with the Nifty 50 falling 35.75 points, or 0.15%, to close at 24,435.95. Escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, a renewed rise in crude oil prices, and heavy selling in Tata Group stocks weighed on investor sentiment.
STATE OF THE MARKETS
GIFT Nifty (Earlier SGX Nifty) signals a negative start
GIFT Nifty on the NSE IX traded lower by 31 points, or 0.13 per cent, at 24,440, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for a negative start on Thursday.
Tech View: Nifty 50 ended the session on a lower note, the index witnessed sustained selling pressure during the first half of the session, forming a lower-high and lower-low structure before stabilizing just above the 24,250 zone. However, the index staged a small recovery towards the close, recovering from the day's lower levels, although the rebound remained limited and did not significantly alter the near-term cautious structure.
“From a technical perspective, the 24,500 zone now emerges as a key resistance area. Notably, the option chain indicates significant Call OI concentration at 24,500. These levels had previously acted as support but have now turned into resistance, making a sustained move above 24,500 essential for any meaningful recovery,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money.
India VIX: India VIX, which is a measure of the fear in the markets, fell 1.58 % to settle at 11.67 levels.
US Stocks mixed
Wall Street ended mixed overnight, with the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 eking out small gains while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped.
Asian shares rise
Asian stocks rose as technology shares rallied and a subdued US inflation report eased concerns about an imminent interest-rate hike by the Federal Reserve. Brent crude snapped a six-day rally.
- S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 9:57 a.m. Tokyo time
- Hang Seng futures fell 0.3%
- Nikkei 225 futures (OSE) rose 1.2%
- Japan’s Topix rose 0.6%
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5%
- Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.3%
Oil prices fell more than $1 on Thursday as forecasters lowered global oil demand projections for 2026 because of the disruptions from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, though the supply constraints from the conflict provided a floor for the market.
Gold rises
Gold hit an over two-month high on Thursday, as tame U.S. consumer inflation undermined expectations of an imminent Federal Reserve rate hike, with markets awaiting producer price data for more signs of cooling price pressures.
Read Also: Ahead of Market: 10 things that will decide stock market action on Thursday
Stocks in F&O ban today
1) Bandhan Bank
2) LICI
3) Manappuram
4) SAIL
Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit.
FII/DII action
Foreign portfolio investors net sold shares worth Rs 1,002.50 crore on Wednesday, while DIIs added shares worth Rs 5,841.66 crore.
Rupee
The Indian rupee traded in a narrow range near 95.32, as early gains in crude oil prices kept the currency under pressure. However, around 2% profit booking in crude below the $90 per barrel mark provided some support to the rupee and limited the downside.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)
