The market oscillated between gains and losses during the session, ultimately closing on a flat note, as persistent tensions in West Asia weighed on investor risk appetite. Despite this, the broader market continued to outperform following the recent correction, indicating underlying resilience in select segments. Investor sentiment remained cautious ahead of the upcoming RBI policy decision and the release of GDP data, both of which are expected to offer greater clarity on the growth outlook.
Here's how analysts read the market pulse:
Sentiment is likely to stay uncertain with a bearish bias in the short term, as long as the index remains below 23,500. On the other hand, a decisive move above 23,500 could trigger a rally towards 23,700. On the downside, immediate support is placed at 23,370; a decisive breach below this level may drag the Nifty towards 23,200 and lower levels.
U.S. markets diverged sharply on Thursday as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell, while the Dow Jones surged over 800 points.
The selloff was driven by a 15% plunge in Broadcom shares after the chipmaker missed revenue expectations and maintained its long-term AI chip sales target. The weakness spread across the semiconductor sector, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropping 4.4% and major chip stocks such as AMD, Marvell Technology, Micron Technology and Qualcomm posting significant losses. Technology emerged as the worst-performing sector, dragging the broader market lower.
However, investors rotated into other sectors, with nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors ending higher. Healthcare led gains, supported by a 5% rise in UnitedHealth after a rating upgrade. Falling oil prices and hopes of easing tensions around the Strait of Hormuz further boosted broader market sentiment.
European markets traded higher, with the DAX rising 121.40 points, or 0.49%, to 24,917.34, the FTSE advancing 14.83 points, or 0.14%, to 10,347.13, the CAC gaining 67.29 points, or 0.83%, to 8,217.71, and the STOXX 600 adding 2.53 points, or 0.41%, to 623.72.
However, the short-term trend remains weak, with the potential for the index to move towards 23,000 if it falls below 23,300. On the higher side, 23,600 is likely to act as a crucial resistance level.
Most active stocks in terms of turnover
HDFC Bank (Rs 3,209 crore), RIL (Rs 3,059 crore), Tejas Networks (Rs 2,800 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 2,436crore), SBI (Rs 1,846 crore), BSE (Rs 1,713 crore) and IFCI (Rs 1,642 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: 86 crore), Ola Electric (Traded shares: 25.16 crore), IFCI (Traded shares: 20.2 crore), Suzlon (Traded shares: 11.9 crore), JP Power (Traded shares: 11.4 share), NHPC (Traded shares: 10.3) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on BSE.
ZEE, Anant Raj, Zen Technologies, Himadri Speciality, Blue Jet Healthcare, IIFL Finance and Orient Refractories were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.
Among the ones which hit their 52 week highs included Vijaya Diagnostics, Acme Solar, Netweb Technologies, Nippon Life AMC, Jindal Saw and CG Power.
Stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were Patanjali Foods, Sundaram Finance, SBI Card, Pfizer, Go Digit, Britannia and Blue Dart.
Out of the 4,386 stocks that traded on the BSE on June 4, Thursday, 2,148 stocks witnessed advances, 2,036 saw declines while 177 stocks remained unchanged.
