Domestic equity benchmarks closed in the red on Tuesday, snapping a three-day rally, as investors booked profits in financial, real estate and consumer-oriented shares. The 50-stock Nifty ended 118 points, or 0.49%, lower at 23,913.70, while the BSE Sensex dropped 479.26 points, or 0.63%, to settle at 76,009.70.
Meanwhile, the volatility gauge India VIX ended at 16.13, down by 3.41% from the last closing.
Here's how analysts read the market pulse:
Decoding charts, Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said the index found support near the 20EMA on the hourly chart, indicating buying interest at lower levels. The hourly RSI remains in a bearish crossover and is drifting lower, suggesting some near-term weakness, he said.
"Despite this, the broader short-term sentiment continues to remain positive, and the possibility of a rebound in the coming sessions cannot be ruled out. On the upside, 24,200 is likely to act as an immediate resistance; a sustained move above this level may trigger further upside momentum. On the downside, support is placed at 23,900. A decisive break below this level could lead to a correction towards 23,825" De added.
US markets
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq traded near record highs on Tuesday, with AI-fueled optimism offsetting concerns over Middle East peace talks after recent U.S. strikes on Iran.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the deal with Tehran could "take a few days," while Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that Tehran was seeking the release of $24 billion of Iranian funds frozen overseas.
The S&P 500 and the Russel 2000 both touched intraday record highs on Tuesday, underscoring the strength of the recent rally.
Upbeat earnings and renewed confidence in AI trade have driven U.S. equities higher despite the ongoing conflict with Iran, with investors now turning their attention to IPOs of some of the largest private AI companies, including SpaceX.
European Markets
European shares slipped on Tuesday as doubts over the prospects of a deal to end the conflict with Iran weighed on sentiment after the U.S. launched what it said were defensive strikes in the south of the country.
The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.6% to 628.01 points.
Most regional bourses traded lower, with London's FTSE 100 the exception, rising 0.2% as it caught up after a UK market holiday on Monday.
Tech View
Decoding the charts, Bajaj Broking said Nifty has formed a bearish candlestick pattern in the daily chart, signaling lack of follow through buying to previous sessions strong up move, as the index gave up some of its Monday’s gains and closed below the 50 days EMA. Nifty on Monday’s session has generated a breakout above the last 9 sessions trading range of 23,200-23,850. Index is currently seen testing the upper band of the breakout area, he said.
"Going ahead, index sustaining above the Monday’s gap area (23,835-23,922) will keep the bias positive and will open further upside towards 24,200-24,300 levels in the coming sessions being the trendline resistance joining the highs of April & May 2026. Index has immediate support at 23,600 levels, failure to hold above 23,600 will signal extension of the consolidation. While major short term support is placed at 23,200-23,000 being the confluence of the lower band of the 8th April bullish gap area and the 61.8% retracement of the previous pullback (22,182-24,601)," Mishra added.
Most active stocks in terms of turnover
Mankind Pharma (Rs 322 crore), Muthoot Finance (Rs 306 crore), Hitachi Energy India (Rs 292 crore), Apollo Micro Systems (BoB, Rs 212 crore), Reliance Industries (RIL, Rs 177 crore), Adani Power (Rs 153 crore) and Pine Labs (Rs 134 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: 4.72 crore), JP Power (Traded shares: 1.54 crore), YES Bank (Traded shares: 1.37 crore), Pine Labs (Traded shares: 96 lakh), Suzlon Energy (Traded shares: 88.42 lakh), Adani Power (Traded shares: 63.61 lakh) and Bharat Coking Coal (Traded shares: 63.39 lakh) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on BSE.
Stocks showing buying interest
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Campus Activewear, Premier Energies, Adani Enterprises, Modison, Hitech Corporation and Indo Rama Synthetics were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.
52-week high
Today, 143 stocks hit their 52 week highs while 40 stocks slipped to their 52-week lows. Among the ones which hit their 52 week highs included Acutaas Chemicals, Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Enterprises, Biocon, Dee Development Engineers, Granules India and HFCL.
Stocks seeing selling pressure
Among the large cap names were Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, Wipro and Bharti Airtel. Other stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were Pine Labs, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), Techno Electric & Engineering Company, Gandhi Special Tubes, Gradiente Infotainment, Ajmera Realty & Infra India and The Ruby Mills.
Sentiment meter favours bears
Sensex settled with strong gains lifted mainly by ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel while the broader market breadth stayed positive. Out of the 4,385 stocks that traded on the BSE on May 26, Tuesday, 2,067 stocks witnessed advances, 2,139 saw declines while 179 stocks remained unchanged.
