The Indian market closed lower on Wednesday, weighed down by rate-sensitive stocks, after the Reserve Bank of India held key interest rates and stuck to a ‘neutral’ policy stance, in line with expectations but dampening some hopes for a more dovish signal amid global trade headwinds.
The BSE Sensex fell 166.26 points, or 0.21%, to end at 80,543.99, while the NSE Nifty shed 75.35 points, or 0.31%, to settle at 24,574.20.
Here’s how analysts read the market pulse:
Despite renewed trade tensions, stemming from the U.S., the domestic market remained resilient, holding firm near the key support level of 24,500, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments , adding that the pharma sector underperformed, emerging as a notable casualty of the tariff warnings. “As expected, the RBI maintained a neutral stance and kept policy rates unchanged, acknowledging global headwinds while emphasizing India’s domestic resilience, fiscal prudence, and strong rural demand. The inflation outlook has turned more favourable, supported by a good monsoon and healthy kharif sowing. In anticipation of improvement in consumption, private investment, and continued government-led capex, the domestic economy appears well-positioned for a better second half, reinforcing investor confidence despite external uncertainties,” said Nair.
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US markets
Wall Street gained on Wednesday, boosted by a string of largely upbeat corporate earnings, while rising expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut provided additional support.
“Earnings are seeing a mixed reaction. Particularly for a few of the AI names, expectations were just extremely high, but by and large, the earnings in aggregate have been good enough to keep a floor under the market,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird.
Markets also found support in rising bets for a September rate cut after last week’s jobs report showed slowing employment growth and downward revisions for previous months, suggesting a weakening labor market and lifting expectations of a Fed action to boost the economy.European Markets
Healthcare stocks led sectoral decliners in Europe on Wednesday, as President Donald Trump’s latest threat of higher tariffs on pharmaceutical imports kept traders on edge.
Europe’s broad STOXX 600 index turned down, retreating 0.15%.
Tech View
The Nifty remained bearish throughout the day as the index stayed under selling pressure, holding below the 50EMA throughout the session, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, adding that the RSI continued to display a bearish crossover on both the daily and hourly charts.
“In addition, a lower-top, lower-bottom formation has developed on the hourly chart, indicating a weakening trend. The index is likely to remain a “sell on rise” as long as it stays below 24,850. In the short term, the index may trend downwards towards 24,400, which is expected to act as a crucial support level on a sustained or closing basis. If Nifty sustains below 24,400, it is likely to witness a more serious correction,” said De.
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Most active stocks in terms of turnover
BSE (Rs 2,214 crore), Waaree Energies (Rs 1,683 crore), Infosys (Rs 1,522 crore), Godfrey Philips (Rs 1,487 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 1,393 crore), Trent (Rs 1,339 crore) and Sarda Energy (Rs 1,224 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: 25.90 crore), Reliance Power (Traded shares: 6.24 crore), Suzlon Energy (Traded shares: 4.72 crore), YES Bank (Traded shares: 4.17 crore), Canara Bank (Traded shares: 4.06 crore), JP Power (Traded shares: 3.74 crore) and Ola Electric Mobility (Traded shares: 2.30 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on NSE.Stocks showing buying interest
Shares of Godfrey Philips, Sarda Energy, Kirloskar Oil, Waaree Energies, Reliance Power, Gujarat Fluorochemicals and ITI Ltd were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.
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52 week high
Over 117 stocks hit their 52 week highs today while 131 stocks slipped to their 52-week lows. Stocks seeing selling pressure
Stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were Transformers & Rectifiers, Bosch, Balkrishna Industries, Redington, CCL Products, Welspun India and PG Electroplast.Sentiment meter bearish
The market sentiments were bearish. Out of the 4,204 stocks that traded on the BSE on Wednesday, 2,780 stocks witnessed declines, 1,289 saw advances, while 135 stocks remained unchanged.
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(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)