The Indian stock market extended its losses for the fourth consecutive trading session on Tuesday, with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty 50 falling more than 1% each amid continued cautious investor sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 1,024.97 points, or 1.35%, to trade at 74,990.31, while the 50-share NSE Nifty 50 was down by 289.25 points, or 1.21%, at 23,526.60 on the weekly options expiry day. Over the last four sessions, the crashed more than 2,800 points, or over 3%, while the Nifty 50 has slipped below the crucial support level of 23,800.
The sell-off in the Indian stock market has been driven by concerns over the economic impact of persistently elevated crude oil prices amid the prolonged in the Middle East. Uncertainty surrounding a potential US-Iran peace deal has further kept investors on edge.
Selling pressure intensified after Prime Minister urged citizens to reduce consumption of petrol, diesel, gold, chemical fertilisers, and edible oil, while also avoiding non-essential foreign travel. The remarks were viewed as part of a broader crisis management response to rising current account deficit concerns triggered by high crude oil prices amid the US-Iran war.
The comments heightened market fears and sparked panic selling. The breached the key support levels of 23,800 and later slipped below 23,600 during Tuesday’s session.
“The Nifty’s gap-down opening and subsequent breach of the 23,800 level have heightened near-term concerns in the market, amid escalating geopolitical tensions, a sharp rise in crude oil prices, and continued weakness in the Indian rupee,” said Ruchit Jain, Head, Equity Technical Research, Wealth Management, .
Here’s what analysts expect next.
Next key levels for Nifty 50
Nifty 50 slipped below the crucial 23,800 support zone, indicating continued weakness in near-term market sentiment.
Despite the pressure, Ruchit Jain believes the ongoing decline is still being viewed as a corrective pullback within the broader uptrend rather than the beginning of a bear market.
“From a technical perspective, the Nifty 50 index is approaching key support levels near 23,400, which coincides with the 50% retracement of the recent rally, followed by the 23,100 zone, representing the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level. These levels are likely to act as important demand zones for the market in the near term,” said Jain.
Anshul Jain, Head of Research at Lakshmishree Investments highlighted that the Nifty 50 index has broken below the crucial 23,800 – 24,300 consolidation range, indicating weakening short-term structure and a shift in momentum toward the bears.
“The breakdown suggests supply dominance after prolonged range-bound trade, with price now gravitating toward the next key liquidity zone near 23,550, which acts as immediate support. Market breadth and price action indicate caution, as failure to reclaim the broken range could invite further downside pressure,” said Jain.
According to him, a decisive breach below 23,550 would confirm continuation of the breakdown and expose the Nifty 50 index to the 23,200 zone, which coincides with the lower end of the previous bullish gap area.
“Sustaining below these levels would weaken the broader bullish structure further,” said Anshul Jain.
Nifty Options Data
Max Pain has sharply shifted downward from 23,900 to 23,650, suggesting option writers — particularly put writers — have been caught off guard and are aggressively unwinding positions. This forced exit, coupled with fresh selling, is driving the continuation of downside momentum, said Bajaj Broking Research.
Aggressive Call OI build – up is visible at 23,600 – 23,700, establishing a clear intraday resistance band. On the downside, the highest Put OI concentration is placed at 23,600 . A sustained move below 23,600 could accelerate the decline towards 23,500, as unwinding pressure intensifies.
“The prevailing setup clearly favors aligning with the negative momentum in the near term,” said the brokerage firm.
The recent sharp decline has dragged the PCR (OI) down to 0.64 , reflecting extreme pessimism — i.e., for every 100 Call OI, only 64 Put OI exists. This indicates panic among put writers and aggressive positioning by call writers, often seen near short-term exhaustion points.
Therefore, the risk of a short-covering rally cannot be ignored. A decisive move above 23,700 in Nifty 50 weekly synthetic futures could trigger such a bounce, driven by trapped short positions .
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.