Equity benchmarks surrendered their opening gains and turned negative by midday on Wednesday, as selling in insurance and pharmaceutical stocks offset continued strength in information technology. At 1.05 pm, the was trading at 22,615.25, down 106.70 points or 0.47 per cent from its previous close of 22,721.95. The was at 72,757.25, down 276.53 points or 0.38 per cent from Tuesday’s close of 73,033.78.
The retreat came despite a broadly positive market breadth on BSE, where 2,394 stocks were advancing against 1,740 declines and 251 unchanged. Of the 4,385 stocks traded, 112 hit fresh 52-week highs while 83 touched 52-week lows. A total of 175 stocks were locked in upper circuits and 162 in lower circuits. The Nifty’s advance-decline ratio stood at a narrower 21:29, reflecting the index-level drag from heavyweights in financial services.
Among Nifty 50 stocks, insurance names took the sharpest losses. Shriram Finance was the biggest decliner, falling 4.11 per cent to ₹947.35. HDFC Life dropped 3.04 per cent to ₹542.95, SBI Life slid 2.83 per cent to ₹1,639.40, and Bajaj Finserv lost 2.41 per cent to ₹1,713.30. Sun Pharma continued the weakness seen in the pharmaceutical sector from the opening bell, declining 2.27 per cent to ₹1,730.50.
On the other side of the ledger, IT stocks remained the session’s standout performers. Nestle India topped the gainers’ list, up 2.25 per cent at ₹1,364.00, followed by TCS, which rose 1.83 per cent to ₹2,298.50 on heavy volumes of over 86 lakh shares valued at ₹1,99,794.97 lakh. Infosys gained 1.68 per cent to ₹1,079.95, Coal India advanced 1.76 per cent to ₹415.70, and Tata Consumer Products added 1.55 per cent to ₹974.90. Reliance, TCS and Infosys remained the top contributors supporting the Nifty at current levels, according to SBI Securities.
Crude oil continued to apply pressure on sentiment. Brent crude was trading around $106.50 a barrel, while WTI was near $95, with the Saudi Arabia–Houthi conflict sustaining supply concerns. MCX crude oil was up 0.59 per cent at ₹9,006, holding above the ₹9,000 mark. On the options front, meaningful call writing was seen at the 22,700 and 22,800 strikes, while the 22,600 put held substantial open interest, followed by 22,500 — suggesting the market views that range as the near-term battleground.
The rupee extended its recovery, with the USD/INR pair trading near 95.01, down 0.28 per cent on the day, touching an intraday low of 94.93 — its strongest level in over a month. The RBI’s measures, including redirecting oil-related dollar demand through a dedicated facility and capping derivative trades without underlying exposure at $5 million, continued to support the currency.
Gold was mixed. COMEX gold was up about 0.2 per cent at $4,187, while MCX gold was marginally lower at ₹148,483. Both markets were in a holding pattern ahead of US CPI data due after Indian market hours, which could sharply alter the trajectory of yields, the dollar and commodity prices. COMEX silver was down 0.13 per cent at $59.445, with MCX silver up a marginal 0.06 per cent at ₹2,19,341.
Technically, SBI Securities placed the Nifty’s crucial support in the 22,520–22,540 zone, with a breach potentially exposing the 22,350–22,370 band. Resistance is seen at 22,830–22,850, a breakout above which could extend the rally toward 23,000. For Sensex, support stands at 72,500 and resistance at 73,400.