Benchmark equity indices ended sharply lower on May 29, with the Nifty slipping below the 23,600 mark amid broad-based selling pressure across sectors. Investor sentiment remained cautious following the IMD’s monsoon forecast at 90% of the Long Period Average (LPA), while a rise in India VIX reflected heightened market volatility. Selling pressure intensified during the final hour of trade due to MSCI rebalancing-related adjustments.

Here is how analysts read the market pulse:

"The index has also broken below a rising trendline on the daily chart, indicating a resurgence of bearish sentiment in the market. On the downside, the correction may extend further in the near to short term, with the index potentially drifting towards the 23,250 mark and lower levels. On the upside, immediate resistance is placed near 23,700, and selling pressure is likely to persist as long as the index remains below this level," said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.

US markets Frontline indices on Wall Street ended in the green on Friday. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 51,005.91, up 336.94 points or 0.66%, the S&P 500 settled 0.21% (16.11 points) higher at 7,579.74. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained by 58.88 points or 0.22% to finish at 26,976.35.

European shares ended slightly higher and posted monthly gains, supported by optimism around a potential deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The disruption to the key waterway has weighed on the global economy and unsettled markets. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.14%, while emerging market stocks climbed 25.91 points, or 1.50%, to 1,750.60.

The benchmark faced resistance near the 50-day EMA on the daily timeframe throughout the week and eventually witnessed a sharp breakdown on the final trading session, falling more than 350 points on Friday. "Overall, Nifty is likely to consolidate in the range of 23,200-24,000, with key support placed at 23,000-23,200 levels, being the confluence of the lower band of the 8 April bullish gap area and the 61.8% retracement of the previous pullback (22,182-24,601)," said Bajaj Broking.

Most active stocks in terms of turnover

Bharti Airtel (Rs 9,670 crore), Infosys (Rs 8,079 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 7,575 crore), Federal Bank (Rs 6,917 crore), RIL (Rs 5,673 crore), MCX (Rs 5,263 crore) and Netweb Tech (Rs 4,792 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 the highest trading turnovers during the day.

Most active stocks in volume terms

Vodafone Idea (traded shares: 84.67 crore), JP Power (traded shares: 65.68 crore), Ola Electric (traded shares: 32.61 crore), YES Bank (traded shares: 31.37 crore), Federal Bank (traded shares: 23.93 crore), Suzlon (traded shares: 22.14 crore) and GMR Infra (traded shares: 13.10 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on BSE.

Netweb Technologies, Wockhardt, Thermax, Akzo Nobel, Gujarat Gas, Afcons Infra and Signature Global were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.

Among the ones which hit their 52-week highs were Netweb Tech, Wockhardt, Thermax, RR Kabel, Kirloskar Oil, HFCL and Triveni Turbine.

Stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were Natco Pharma, Jyoti CNC, Praj Industries, MCX India, GE Shipping, Bharat Dynamics and BEML.

Out of the 4,463 stocks that traded on the BSE on Friday, May 29, 1,611 stocks advanced, 2,673 declined while 179 stocks remained unchanged.