Meanwhile, the volatility gauge India VIX ended at 18.59, up by 1.58% from the last closing.
Here’s how analysts read the market pulse:
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said Nifty found resistance around the 100 EMA, leading to a fall on Thursday towards lower levels. The index found support at the 10 EMA before closing slightly higher. “On Friday, if it falls below 24,150 decisively, it might decline towards 23,900. However, if it moves above 24,200, it could rise towards 24,500–24,600. A decisive breakout from the 24,150–24,200 range is required to witness a directional move in the Nifty,” De said.
US markets
Wall Street’s main indexes ticked lower on Thursday, as investors awaited clear signals on the U.S.-Iran war, while a batch of mixed earnings reignited concerns about AI-driven disruption across the software sector.
Iran tightened control over the Strait of Hormuz as Tehran released footage of its commandos storming a huge cargo ship that they claimed to have seized on Wednesday, while demanding the U.S. lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports.
Live Events
Investors keen to look past war-related risks have shown strong resilience in recent days, but some fatigue has set in, leading to brief episodes of risk aversion, as they await more clarity on how and when the conflict may ultimately be resolved.
European Markets
Most major European indices traded in the red on Wednesday around 3:03 p.m. BST (7:49 pm India time). UK’s FTSE 100, Stoxx 600,Spain’s IBEX 35 and Germany’s Dax traded lower between 0.10% and 0.90% around this time. Meanwhile, French CAC was trading 0.67% higher around this time.
Tech View
Decoding the technical charts, Nandish Shah, Deputy Vice President at HDFC Securities said Nifty has now entered the gap zone between 24,145 and 23,907, formed on 15 April 2026, which may act as a short-term support area. On the upside, 24,310 and 24,600 are likely to act as resistance levels, he opined.
Most active stocks in terms of turnover
Reliance Industries (RIL, Rs 437 crore), Britannia Industries (Rs 353 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 290 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 282 crore), Amara Raja Energy & Mobility ( ARE&M, Rs 213 crore), TVS Motor (Rs 175 crore) and State Bank of India (SBI, Rs 168 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
SpiceJet (Traded shares: 2.93 crore), Vodafone Idea (Traded shares: 1.86 crore), JP Power (Traded shares: 95.10 lakh), Reliance Power (Traded shares: 76.90 lakh) Suzlon Energy (Traded shares: 58.75 lakh), YES Bank (Traded shares: 48.06 lakh) and Ola Electric (Traded shares: 43.98 lakh), and were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on BSE.
Stocks showing buying interest
Fractal Analytics, Oracle Financial Services Software (OFSS), Jio Financial Services, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Mask Investments, Zodiac Energy and Delta Corp were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.
52 Week high
Today, 142 stocks hit their 52 week highs while 29 stocks slipped to their 52-week lows. Among the ones which hit their 52 week highs included Accord Transformer & Switchgear, Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Green Energy, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), CG Power and Industrial Solutions, Data Patterns (India) and Fractal Analytics.
Stocks seeing selling pressure
Among the large cap names were Tech Mahindra, Trent and Shriram Finance. Other stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were Union Bank of India, Bharat Coking Coal (BCCL), Havells India, IIFL Finance, Union Bank, Jubilant Agri and Consumer Products and Havells India.
Sentiment meter favours bulls
While Sensex ended with declines, dragged by HDFC Bank, HCL Tech and Infosys, the broader market breadth stayed positive. Out of the 4,449 stocks that traded on the BSE on April 23, Thursday, 1,681 stocks witnessed advances, 2,602 saw declines while 166 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)