Meanwhile, the volatility gauge India VIX ended at 22.80, up 21.79% from the last closing.
Here’s how analysts read the market pulse:
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said the index fell to its lowest closing level in several days, indicating a sharp rise in pessimism. The RSI has entered a bearish crossover and is falling, suggesting increasing bearish momentum, he said.
“Going forward, a decisive fall below 23,000 might trigger further downside towards 22,700 or even lower. On the other hand, a decisive move above 23,000 could push the index towards 23,350,” De said.
US markets
Wall Street’s main indexes fell on Thursday as a surge in crude prices revived inflation fears and the Federal Reserve’s cautious stance on interest rate cuts weighed on sentiment.
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The rate-sensitive Russell 2000 index dropped 0.4%, having briefly touched a 10% loss from its all-time intraday high earlier in the session. An index falling 10% or more below its record high on a close-to-close basis is called a correction. A strong forecast from Micron Technology did little to uplift sentiment, with its shares dropping 4.4%, as investors mulled the chip company’s higher spending plans given elevated borrowing costs.
Brent crude prices hovered around $112 a barrel after Iran attacked energy facilities across the Middle East in retaliation to Israel’s strike on its South Pars gas field. The U.S. benchmark, however, was trading at its widest discount to Brent in 11 years due to releases from U.S. strategic reserves and higher freight costs.
European Markets
Major European indices were a sea of red on Thursday. UK’s FTSE 100, Germany’s Dax, Stoxx 600, Spain’s IBEX 35 and French CAC 40 fell between 2.3% and 3% around 1:25 p.m. GMT (7:10 pm India time).
Tech View
Decoding the charts, Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities said a reasonable bearish candle is formed on the daily chart with upper and lower shadow and the opening huge downside gap remains partially filled. The new swing low has been formed near the previous opening up gap support (15th April 2025) of around 22,900 levels and that led to minor recovery, he said.
The overall chart pattern of Nifty remains weak and Wednesday’s high of 23,862 could now be considered as a new lower top of the pattern. As per this bearish pattern, one may expect further weakness in Nifty in the near term. A slide below 22,900 could open the next downside target of 22,500 levels in the near term. Immediate resistance is placed at 23,350 levels,” the HDFC Securities analyst said.
Most active stocks in terms of turnover
HDFC Bank (Rs 579), Adani Total Gas (ATGL, Rs 310 crore), Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals (Rs 272 crore), Max Healthcare Institute (Rs 175 crore), Reliance Industries (Rs 242 crore), MCX (Rs 175 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: 3.97 crore), JP Power (Traded shares: 3.22 crore), SpiceJet (Traded shares: 2.24 crore), Tata Steel (Traded shares: 77.97 lakh), HDFC Bank (Traded shares: 71.14 lakh), YES Bank (Traded shares: 69.39 lakh) and Gujarat Alkalies (Traded shares: 56.24 lakh), and were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on BSE.
Stocks showing buying interest
ONGC, ATGL, Finkurve Financial Services, GVP Infotech, Gujarat Alkalies, Butterfly Gandhimathi Appliances and JP Power were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.
52 Week high
Today, 53 stocks hit their 52 week highs while 368 stocks slipped to their 52-week lows. Among the ones which hit their 52 week highs included AMS Polymers, Apt Packaging, Atlanta Electricals, Bhaskar Agrochemicals, DCM Shriram International, Hypersoft Technologies and Jindal Poly Films.
Stocks seeing selling pressure
Among the large cap names were Shriram Finance, Eternal and HDFC Bank. Other stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were AMS Polymers, Apt Packaging, Atlanta Electricals, Bhaskar Agrochemicals, DCM Shriram International, Hypersoft Technologies and Jindal Poly Films.
Sentiment meter favours bears
Heavyweights like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) dragged the markets the most, as the breadth stayed positive in the overall markets. Out of the 4,404 stocks that traded on the BSE on March 19, Thursday, 913 stocks witnessed advances, 3,359 saw declines while 132 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)