The Indian stock market extended losses on Wednesday, with the Sensex and the Nifty falling up to 0.2% as Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran resigned, triggering a sharp fall in Tata Group stocks, along with rising oil prices that spooked investors.
Sensex dropped 188 points to close at 77,966, while the Nifty 50 lost 36 points to end the session at 24,436 on Wednesday. The market recovered significant losses, as the benchmark indices had fallen nearly 1% intraday.
Here's how analysts read the market pulse
Markets remained on edge ahead of key inflation readings in India and the US, with policymakers on both sides underscoring a data-driven approach amid heightened global uncertainty, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments. Against this backdrop, elevated crude oil prices, which retested the $90/barrel level, weighed on investor confidence and triggered broad-based risk-off selling despite supportive cues from Asian peers, he added.
“Defying the broader weakness, PSU banks extended gains on the back of robust asset quality, attractive valuations and healthy credit growth outlooks, while metal stocks outperformed on expectations of tighter supply conditions. Meanwhile, Tata Group stocks came under pressure following the Chairman's exit, contributing to the underperformance of large-cap stocks relative to the broader market,” Nair further said.
Wall Street's main indexes rose on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq outperforming peers as upbeat earnings from AI infrastructure firms boosted technology stocks, while largely in-line inflation data reinforced bets the Fed will hold interest rates steady.
Data showed U.S. consumer prices increased slightly in July, weakening the argument for the central bank to hike interest rates next month.
Traders are now pricing in a 55% chance of the U.S. Federal Reserve holding rates at its September meeting, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. Before the data was released, they were split between a hike and no change.
European shares consolidated near record highs on Wednesday, as investors digested corporate earnings reports and U.S. inflation data to determine the interest rate path amid fresh geopolitical tensions. Brent crude futures rose 0.6% to $89.45 a barrel after attacks on shipping in the Middle East and fading hopes for an end to the Iran conflict.
The pan-continental STOXX 600 fell 0.04% while Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index lost 0.09%.
Nifty 50 continued to fall after slipping below 24,400, leading to a decline towards 24,250, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities. On the lower end, it found support around the 200-hour SMA before staging a recovery, he added.
“On the daily timeframe, the index has managed to close above the 20EMA. However, the RSI indicator is in a bearish crossover, indicating weak momentum. A sustained fall below 24,400 on Thursday might again drag the index towards 24,180. On the higher end, 24,500 is likely to act as a crucial resistance, and a sustained move above this level might improve the trend,” according to the analyst.
Most active stocks in terms of turnover
Tenneco Clean Air (Rs 3,100 crore), Finolex Cables (Rs 2,652 crore), Godrej Consumer (Rs 2,081 crore), Bharti Airtel (Rs 2,077 crore), Hindustan Copper (Rs 2,049 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 1,914 crore) and SBI (Rs 1,908 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: 77.25 crore), Yes Bank (Traded shares: 6.83 crore), Tenneco Clean Air (Traded shares: 5.85 crore), PNB (Traded shares: 5.12 crore), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Traded shares: 4.54 crore), Suzlon Energy (Traded shares: 4.18 crore), and Ola Electric (Traded shares: 4.04 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on NSE.
NALCO, Apar Industries, Zee Enterprises, Finolex Cables, Supreme Petro, Vijaya Diagnostic and Force Motors were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.
Among the ones which hit their 52-week highs on NSE included Apar Industries, Finolex Cables, Vijaya Diagnostic, Aarti Industries, Gujarat Fluorochemicals, Belrise Industries and Ather Energy.
Stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were Godrej Consumer Products, PI Industries, Jubiliant Pharmanova, Orient Refractories, Techno Electric, Caplin Point and AIA Engineering.
Among the ones which hit their 52-week lows on NSE included Godrej Consumer Products, PI Industries, KEC International, Sun TV and HDFC Bank..
Out of the 3,476 stocks that traded on the NSE on August 12, Wednesday, 1,504 stocks witnessed advances, 1,867 saw declines while 105 stocks remained unchanged.
