Meanwhile, the volatility gauge India VIX ended at 21.52, up 2.16% from the last closing.
Here’s how analysts read the market pulse:
Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said the index slipped below the recent consolidation low, heightening weakness amid the ongoing problems at the Strait of Hormuz. Though the session remained somewhat volatile, overall selling pressure persisted at higher levels. Sentiment continues to support a bearish view in the short term, with sell-on-rise likely to remain the preferred strategy, he said.
“The RSI indicator is in a bearish crossover and is declining further, entering a zone of significant weakness. On the lower end, support is placed at 23,400 / 23,200, while on the higher end, resistance is seen at 23,850,” De added.
US markets
Wall Street’s major indexes fell 1% on Thursday, with financial stocks taking a blow, as a surge in oil prices toward $100 a barrel rekindled inflation fears and investors kept a close watch on mounting jitters in the private credit sector.
Crude prices jumped after two tankers were set ablaze in Iraqi waters in apparent Iranian strikes, as part of wider attacks on oil and transport facilities across the Middle East. Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said the Strait of Hormuz should remain closed as a tool of pressure.
S&P 500 airline stocks, highly sensitive to fuel costs, fell 3.4% and are on track for their biggest monthly losses in a year. Cruise operators Norwegian and Royal Caribbean also fell more than 2.5%.Energy companies Occidental gained 3.3% and ConocoPhillips rose over 1.4%.
Investors are also scrutinizing the roughly $2 trillion private credit market following a string of credit issues that have surfaced in recent months and Swiss private equity firm Partners Group warned private credit default rates could double in the next few years.
European Markets
Major European indices were on the boil, falling sharply today at 1:17 p.m. GMT (around 7 pm India time). UK’s FTSE 100, Spain’s IBEX 35, French CAC 40, Germany’s Dax and Stoxx 600 fell between 0.4% and 1.3%.
Tech View
Decoding the Nifty charts, Bajaj Broking said the index has formed a high wave candle with a lower high and a lower low signaling continuation of the downward bias. Bias remains down and the index is likely to extend the current decline towards the 23,200 levels in the coming sessions, he said, highlighting that Nifty closed below Monday’s low today.
“On the upside, immediate resistance is placed around 24,000 and 24,300, which also coincides with the recent breakdown zone, and only a sustained move above 24,300 could indicate a pause in the prevailing downtrend. Market volatility is also expected to remain elevated due to uncertain global cues, rising crude oil prices, and escalating geopolitical tensions,” this brokerage said.
Most active stocks in terms of turnover
Adani Total Gas (ATGL, Rs 435 crore), Bharat Airtel (Rs 326), Reliance Industries (RIL, Rs 242 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 208 crore), Maruti Suzuki (Rs 163 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 162 crore) and State Bank of India (SBI, Rs 141 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: 3.39 lakh), SpiceJet (Traded shares: 3.28 crore), ATGL (Traded shares: 69.20 lakh), NTPC Green (Traded shares: 65.74 lakh), Eternal (Traded shares: 61.89 lakh), Suzlon Energy (Traded shares: 54.33 lakh) and Bharat Coking Coal (Traded shares: 53.38 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on BSE.
Stocks showing buying interest
NTPC Green Energy, Tata Power, ATGL, TTK Prestige, ICDS, Regaal Resources and Balkrishna Paper Mills were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.
52 Week high
Today, 68 stocks hit their 52 week highs while 378 stocks slipped to their 52-week lows. Among the ones which hit their 52 week highs included ABB India, Aeroflex Industries, Coal India, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, NTPC and Vidya Wires.
Stocks seeing selling pressure
Among the large cap names were Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Eicher Motors and Maruti Suzuki. Other stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were Borosil , Prajay Engineers Syndicate, Aequs, Shree Rama Newsprint, Sri Lotus Developers and Realty and Stove Kraft.
Sentiment meter favours bears
Heavyweights like ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and M&M dragged the markets with breadth staying negative in the overall markets. Out of the 4,404 stocks that traded on the BSE on March 12, Thursday, 1,598 stocks witnessed advances, 2,645 saw declines while 161 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)