The Indian stock market saw sharp upswings and downswings on Thursday, before the Sensex and Nifty ended the session in the red amid expiry-day volatility, as the escalating Iran-US war spooked investors. Sensex dropped more than 151 points to close at 73,832, while Nifty declined over 53 points to end the session at 23,162 on Thursday. Broader markets continued to record losses, with Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices falling around 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively.
"Domestic markets witnessed a modest rebound on dip-buying as oil prices eased, despite the recent US–Iran escalation. However, the recovery proved fleeting, weighed down by an increasingly fragile global backdrop. Banking and pharma stocks attracted buying interest, supported by resilient earnings, favourable RBI measures, and a shift toward defensive sectors. In contrast, mid and small caps saw profit booking after their recent outperformance, indicating signs of near-term consolidation. IT stocks also lagged amid concerns that stronger US inflation could delay interest rate cuts and keep global financial conditions tight. Global cues remained mixed, with major central banks continuing to signal a hawkish stance. The expected ECB rate hike has further heightened concerns around liquidity tightening and its potential impact on emerging market flows,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments.
Here's how analysts read the market pulse
“On Thursday, amid weak global cues, the benchmark index Nifty opened with a downside gap. However, it once again found support near the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level of its previous up move, leading to a gradual recovery thereafter. Notably, in the last four trading sessions, the index has tested this support zone three times, highlighting its importance. During the session, Nifty touched a high of 23327 but witnessed profit booking at higher levels, eventually closing at 23161, down 0.23%. On the daily chart, the index formed a small-bodied bullish candle with a long upper shadow, indicating selling pressure at elevated levels,” said SBI Securities.
Wall Street's major indexes inched higher on Thursday, as investors sought bargains in beaten-down technology stocks and kept a close watch on developments around the Middle East conflict.
Chipmakers bounced back after Wednesday's selloff sent major Wall Street indexes down more than 1% and technology stocks into correction territory, a 10% drop from their record close.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would hit Iran "very hard tonight" and soon take control of the Middle Eastern country's oil and gas infrastructure and markets. Oil prices edged higher.
European shares closed higher on Thursday, snapping a four-day losing streak, as investors looked past escalating rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump and weighed the European Central Bank's decision to raise interest rates.
The ECB raised borrowing costs by an expected 25 basis points, its first hike in nearly three years, while lifting inflation forecasts and cutting its growth outlook amid the price pressures stemming from the ongoing Middle East conflict.
Rate-sensitive sectors lagged. Financial services slipped 0.7%, with asset managers ICG and Partners Group down 4.7% and 3%, respectively. Real estate stocks also fell 0.8%.
The broader pan-European STOXX 600 closed up 0.5% at 621.53 points, while major regional bourses also advanced.
Technically, Nifty 50 continues to trade below its key moving averages, which are trending downward. Additionally, the daily RSI is below the 40 mark and remains in a declining mode, reflecting underlying weakness, as per SBI Securities.
“Going forward, the zone of 23050–23000 is expected to act as a crucial support for the index. A decisive breach below the 23000 mark could intensify selling pressure, potentially dragging the index towards 22850, followed by 22700 levels in the short term. On the upside, the immediate resistance is placed in the 23300–23330 zone, which is likely to act as a near-term hurdle for any recovery,” it added.
Most active stocks in terms of turnover
ICICI Bank (Rs 4,729 crore), Aegis Logistics (Rs 3,643 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 2,437 crore), Ola Electric (Rs 1,749 crore), Reliance Industries (Rs 1,660 crore), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Rs 1,593 crore) and State Bank of India (Rs 1,382 crore) were among the most active stocks on NSE in value terms. Higher activity in a counter in value terms can help identify the counters with the highest trading turnovers in the day.
Most active stocks in volume terms
Vodafone Idea (Traded shares: 80.24 crore), Ola Electric (Traded shares: 38.44 crore), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Traded shares: 14.75 crore), Yes Bank (Traded shares: 9.30 crore), JP Power (Traded shares: 7.31 crore), HFCL (Traded shares: 5.27 crore), and Canara Bank (Traded shares: 4.62 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on NSE.
Aegis Logistics, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, DOMS Industries, Blue Jet Healthcare, Wockhardt, Poly Medicure and Tejas Networks were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.
Among the ones which hit their 52-week highs on NSE included Aegis Logistics, Apar Industries, Akums Drugs, Syrma SGS Tech, Honasa Consumer, RBL Bank and Aster DM Health.
Stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were Balkrishna Industries, CCL Products, MRPL, Sapphire Foods, Adani Transmission, Praj Industries and Amber Enterprises.
Among the ones which hit their 52-week lows on NSE included Balkrishna Industries, GSK Pharma, Zensar Tech, LTIMindtree, RVNL, JK Cement and Kalyan Jewellers.
Out of the 3,362 stocks that traded on the NSE on June 11, Thursday, 1,013 stocks witnessed advances, 2,255 saw declines while 94 stocks remained unchanged.
