The BSE Sensex fell 102 points, or 0.12%, to close at 84,961.14, while the NSE Nifty 50 declined 38 points, or 0.14%, to end the session at 26,140.75.
Here’s how analysts read the market pulse:
Domestic market sentiment remains cautious with risk-off undertones ahead of Q3FY26 earnings and key U.S. jobs data, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, adding that while QoQ corporate earnings are expected to improve, FIIs remain risk-averse amid global trade uncertainty.“Profit-booking in autos and financials weighs indices, though selective buying in IT, pharma, and mid-caps did provide some cushion. Adding to global complexity, China’s export curbs on rare earth heighten supply chain risks. In this macro backdrop, equities are likely to stay range-bound; a “buy-on-dips” strategy focused on large-cap themes appears prudent,” said Nair.
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US markets
Wall Street stocks inched up early Wednesday, as investors eyed technology announcements at a major industry show while private sector employment bounced back in December according to fresh data.Markets on Wednesday also digested employment data for the US private sector, with payroll firm ADP reporting that hiring was up by 41,000 jobs in December.
This was slightly below a consensus forecast but still signaled a bounceback from November’s job losses.
Investors are likely looking instead towards a government payrolls report due Friday, for a better gauge of how the jobs market is doing.
European Markets
European markets picked up some bullish trades, however, as the latest euro zone inflation report showed price increases had slowed to a year-on-year rate of 2% in December, in line with the European Central Bank’s target.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 share index was flat, in part due to banking stocks sagging as prospects for rate hikes that tend to increase lenders’ profits receded.
Britain’s FTSE 100 share index fell 0.6% after climbing above 10,000 points for the first time at the start of this week while gold dropped 1.1% to $4,447.57 per ounce after it hit record levels late last month.
Silver, which had rallied hard to catch up with gold and notched up its strongest year on record in 2025, was 3.2% lower by midday in London.
Tech View
The Nifty remained volatile during the session, though the real range stayed relatively small, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, adding that on the lower end, it found support at the 21 EMA before closing higher.
“In the near term, the trend is likely to remain sluggish, with the range placed between 26000 and 26300. Any decisive fall below 26000 may trigger further weakness. On the other hand, a decisive move above 26300 would require for a directional upmove in the Nifty,” said De.
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Most active stocks in terms of turnover
HDFC Bank (Rs 5,025 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 2,249 crore), Hindustan Copper (Rs 1,975 crore), RIL (Rs 1,688 crore), Indian Energy Exchange (Rs 1,684 crore), Tata Elxsi (Rs 1,672 crore) and Titan Company (Rs 1,495 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: 45.65 crore), YES Bank (Traded shares: 18.85 crore), Ola Electric Mobility (Traded shares: 12.92 crore), Indian Energy Exchange (Traded shares: 11.05 crore), HDFC Bank (Traded shares: 5.28 crore), Suzlon Energy (Traded shares: 4.87 crore) and IDFC First Bank (Traded shares: 4.29 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on NSE.
Stocks showing buying interest
Shares of Tata Elxsi, Elecon Engineering Company, Saregama India, Sonata Software, KPIT Technologies, Tata Technologies and Birlasoft were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.
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52 Week high
Over 140 stocks hit their 52-week highs today while 121 stocks slipped to their 52-week lows. Among the ones which hit their 52 week highs included Nestle India and Titan.
Stocks seeing selling pressure
Stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were Cipla, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services, Sun TV, HEG, Ola Electric Mobility, Sumitomo Chemical and Maharashtra Scooter.
Sentiment meter neutral
The market sentiments were neutral. Out of the 4,350 stocks that traded on the BSE on Wednesday, 2,068 stocks witnessed declines, 2,104 saw advances, while 178 stocks remained unchanged.
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(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)