Indian stock market erased most of its intraday gains, with the Sensex recording marginal gains and Nifty slipping into the red, with Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 indices crashing more than 1% each.
Sensex gained over 64 points to close at 73,983, while Nifty 50 declined 27 points to end the session at 23,215. This came as India VIX, which measures volatility in the market, inched up higher towards 15.61.
Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank shares were the top gainers on the Sensex, rising 1-2%. Zomato-parent Eternal, Tata Steel and Bajaj Finserv shares were the top losers, falling around 2% each.
Among the sectoral indices, Nifty FMCG outperformed with a 1% rise. Nifty Metal and Nifty Realty, meanwhile, crashed around 2% each. Around 2,258 stocks declined on the NSE, while 1,038 advanced and 82 remained unchanged.
Tensions between Iran and the US re-escalated overnight, further erasing expectations of the two countries concluding their much-awaited peace deal and ending the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The US military launched airstrikes, and Iran retaliated after the crash of an Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz, which US President Donald Trump blamed on the Islamic Republic. Iran launched attacks in Bahrain and Kuwait, which both sounded alerts and fired air defences in response. Iran said it has targeted an air base in Jordan hosting US forces.
However, oil prices cooled down despite the rising escalations. Brent crude futures fell below $92 per barrel, and WTI Crude declined to $88 per barrel. This came after oil prices had soared to multi-year highs above $100 per barrel for several weeks following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow 33-kilometre waterway connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman that handles over 20% of the world’s daily oil and gas shipments.
The rupee closed at 95.2650 per dollar, up marginally compared to its close of 95.35 in the previous session.
What lies ahead?
After forming an inverted hammer candlestick on the daily chart, Nifty witnessed a recovery from lower levels, Vatsal Bhuva, Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, explained. However, in Wednesday's session, the index faced strong selling pressure near the 23,400–23,450 zone.
“The broader trend remains weak as Nifty continues to form lower highs and lower lows. Moreover, the index is consistently trading below its 20-day moving average, indicating that the short-term trend remains under pressure, while RSI remains below the 50 mark, reflecting subdued momentum. Buying interest is visible around the 23,000–23,100 zone, whereas overhead resistance is emerging from the declining short-term moving averages. Hence, a range-bound approach is preferred over a directional view. The expected trading range for Nifty is 23,000–23,550, with 23,200 acting as immediate support, 23,000–23,100 as positional support, and 23,450–23,550 as the key resistance zone,” he added.
(With inputs from agencies)
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
