Meanwhile, the volatility gauge India VIX ended at 22.81, mildly up by 0.04% from the last closing.
Here’s how analysts read the market pulse:
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said the rising Nifty faced resistance at the 21EMA and slipped lower on the hourly chart. Meanwhile, on the daily chart, a Bullish Harami Cross has formed, which is a bullish reversal pattern, he said. “In the short term, the trend may improve with the potential to rise towards 23400–23600. On the lower end, 22950–23000 remains a key support zone, below which bearishness may re-emerge,” De added.
US markets
Wall Street ended sharply lower on Friday, with the S&P 500 closing at its lowest in six months, as the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran entered its fourth week, deepening worries about inflation and the potential for higher interest rates. The conflict in the Middle East showed no signs of easing. The U.S. military was deploying an amphibious assault ship with thousands of additional Marines and sailors to the Middle East, while Iran’s new supreme leader hailed Iran’s “unity” and “resistance.”
Wall Street’s most valuable companies dropped, with Nvidia and Tesla losing over 3% each. Alphabet , Meta Platforms and Microsoft were all down about 2%. U.S. Treasuries fell for a third session, in step with a broader selloff in UK and European government bonds, as the Middle East conflict kept oil prices elevated and reinforced inflation worries.
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U.S. rate futures show the Fed is more likely to raise interest rates than cut them by the end of 2026, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
The S&P 500 declined 1.51% to end the session at 6,506.48 points, its lowest since September.The Nasdaq slumped 2.01% to 21,647.61 points, leaving it down almost 10% from its record high close on October 29.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.96% to 45,577.47 points.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies dropped 2.26%, leaving it down 10% from its record high close on January 22.
Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes declined, led lower by utilities, down 4.11%, followed by a 3.15% loss in real estate.
Since the war in Iran began on February 28, the S&P 500 has lost 5.4%, the Nasdaq has declined 4.5% and the Dow is down nearly 7%. All three major indexes are below their 200-day moving averages, underscoring the recent deterioration of sentiment on Wall Street.
European Markets
European equities fell for a third straight week, their longest streak of losses in almost a year, as the deepening conflict in the Middle East stoked inflation fears and revived bets for interest-rate hikes.
The pan-European STOXX 600 closed 1.8% lower at 573.28 on Friday. It posted a 3.8% decline for the week.
What began as a calm week rapidly unravelled into renewed inflation fears, as strikes on energy infrastructure in the Middle East pushed oil prices higher, shattering hopes that risk assets had found a floor.
Every major sub-index in the STOXX 600 ended lower, with defence stocks and utilities among the biggest drags, down 3.2% and 2.7%, respectively.
The heavyweight financial sector and the energy index lost 2% each.
Tech View
Nilesh Jain, Senior Vice President – Head of Technical and Derivative research at Centrum Finverse said Nifty witnessed a minor pullback following the recent sharp decline and formed a small-bodied bullish candle with a long upper shadow, indicating selling pressure at higher levels.
In his view, the broader trend remains weak, despite today’s gains, with the index continuing to form lower highs and lower lows, although intermittent pullbacks cannot be ruled out. “Immediate support is placed at 22,900, and a breach below this level could trigger further downside towards 22,600. On the upside, resistance is seen near the gap zone around 23,500. The RSI is hovering near the oversold zone at 32, suggesting the possibility of a near-term pullback,” Jains said.
Most active stocks in terms of turnover
HDFC Bank (Rs 395), DLF (Rs 268 crore), Jindal Poly Films (Rs 227 crore), Reliance Industries (RIL, Rs 160 crore), Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals (Rs 150 crore), LG Electronics (Rs 143 crore) and ICICI Bank (Rs 120 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: 3.31 crore), SpiceJet (Traded shares: 3.12 crore), JP Power (Traded shares: 1.95 crore), Reliance Power (Traded shares: 77.97 lakh), YES Bank (Traded shares: 68.35 lakh), Ola Electric (Traded shares: 65.37 lakh) and HDFC Bank (Traded shares: 50.28 lakh), and were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on BSE.
Stocks showing buying interest
Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC), Brainbees Solutions (Firstcry), Vodafone Idea, Happiest Minds, Gujarat Alkalies, Websol Energy System and KIOCL were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.
52 Week high
Today, 63 stocks hit their 52 week highs while 306 stocks slipped to their 52-week lows. Among the ones which hit their 52 week highs included Acutaas Chemicals, Aether Industries, AGI Infra, Centum Electronics, JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, Lenskart Solutions and Tata Power Company.
Stocks seeing selling pressure
Among the large cap names were Hindalco Industries, HDFC Bank and Shriram Finance. Other stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were Acme Solar Holding, Petronet LNG, Maha Rashtra Apex Corporation, Finkurve Financial Services, Butterfly Gandhimathi Appliances, Systematix Corporate Services and Jindal Poly Films.
Sentiment meter favours bulls
Heavyweights like RIL, Infosys and Tata Steel lifted the markets the most, as the breadth stayed positive in the overall markets. Out of the 4,432 stocks that traded on the BSE on March 20, Friday, 2,414 stocks witnessed advances, 1,863 saw declines while 155 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)