Equity benchmarks opened higher on Tuesday but quickly surrendered gains as selling in information technology stocks weighed on the indices, while a sharp rise in crude oil prices kept investor sentiment cautious.
The , which closed at 75,502.85 on Monday and opened at 75,826.68, was trading at 75,392.80, down 110.05 points or 0.15 per cent, at 9.26 am. The NSE Nifty50, which ended the previous session at 23,408.80 and opened at 23,493.20, was trading at 23,371.00, down 37.80 points or 0.16 per cent at the same time.
The broader market structure remains fragile. Gaurav Udani, Founder of ThinCredBlu Securities, said “…22,900 continues to act as an important support level, while 23,600 remains an immediate resistance zone where selling pressure may emerge.” He added that with Tuesday being the weekly derivatives expiry, traders should “…remain disciplined with risk management and avoid aggressive positioning during sharp intraday swings.”
IT stocks lead the decline
The technology sector was the biggest drag on the benchmarks. Wipro fell 2.62 per cent to ₹190.00, Infosys dropped 2.22 per cent to ₹1,222.00, HCL Technologies declined 1.40 per cent to ₹1,310.00, TCS shed 1.38 per cent to ₹2,376.00, and Tech Mahindra lost 1.21 per cent to ₹1,323.30.
Auto and telecom lead gains
On the other side, automobiles and telecom stocks provided support. Zomato parent CA Eternal was the top gainer on the Nifty50, rising 1.91 per cent to ₹226.28. Bharti Airtel added 1.13 per cent to ₹1,809.00. In the auto space, Mahindra & Mahindra gained 1.04 per cent to ₹3,067.80 and Maruti Suzuki rose 0.98 per cent to ₹12,882.00. Asian Paints edged up 0.82 per cent to ₹2,235.80.
Akshay Chinchalkar, Managing Partner and Head of Markets Strategy at The Wealth Company, noted that in the previous session “…Autos rising 1.7 per cent became the top performers on the day,” while realty stocks fell 1.6 per cent. He added that technically, the Nifty traced a bullish “piercing line” formation, making “…yesterday’s low of 22,955 a critical level.”
Crude oil surge a key risk
Crude oil markets remained elevated, adding to inflationary concerns for the Indian economy. May Brent oil futures were at $102.85 per barrel, up 2.63 per cent, while May WTI crude futures were at $95.02, up 2.87 per cent. On the domestic Multi Commodity Exchange, March crude oil futures were at ₹8,859, up 1.59 per cent, and April futures were at ₹8,842, up 1.95 per cent against the previous close.
Dr. V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, warned that “…this uncertainty is getting reflected in the market, too. Even seasoned experts lack conviction to advise investors on the right strategy.” He said the Nifty’s previous session bounce of 257 points “…was triggered mainly by short-covering from oversold territory” and is “…unlikely to sustain, given the massive selling by FIIs which touched ₹9,366 crore yesterday.”
Institutional flows diverge
Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers, offloading shares worth ₹9,365.5 crore in the previous session, while domestic institutional investors countered with net purchases of ₹12,593.4 crore, providing a floor to the market. Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, noted that “…robust DII inflows have helped stabilise the market by offsetting foreign selling pressure and containing downside risks.”
India VIX, the market’s fear gauge, showed early signs of easing from recent highs, though it remained elevated near 21.6, keeping option premiums expensive ahead of the weekly expiry. Aakash Shah, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Equity Broking, said that “…with the index approaching key resistance zones, a stock-specific approach with disciplined risk management remains advisable for the trading session ahead.”
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, placed key levels for traders: “…23,300/75,200 and 23,200/75,000 would act as key support zones,” while “…23,650/76,000 and 23,800/76,500 would serve as key resistance areas for the bulls.”