Nifty reverses gap-up gains as 322 stocks hit 52-week lows

Markets surrendered a promising gap-up opening on Wednesday and turned lower through the session, with selling spreading well beyond the indices as breadth deteriorated sharply, 322 stocks on BSE touched fresh 52-week lows against just 81 hitting new highs, and the advance-decline ratio on the Nifty stood at a lopsided 11:39.

At 1.05 pm, the Nifty 50 was at 22,737.80, down 151.15 points or 0.66 per cent from its Monday close of 22,888.95, while the Sensex traded at 73,493.11, shedding 359.79 points or 0.49 per cent from 73,852.90.

Of 4,471 stocks traded on BSE, 3,397 declined and only 873 advanced, with 306 stocks hitting lower circuits against 112 in upper circuits.

SBI Securities noted the frontline indices had “slipped below the lows of the previous two sessions” following the gap-up reversal.

IT stocks were the lone bright spot on an otherwise bruising day. Infosys gained 2.68 per cent to ₹1,161.00, Tech Mahindra advanced 2.66 per cent to ₹1,826.40, TCS rose 2.20 per cent to ₹2,515.10, and HCL Technologies added 1.57 per cent to ₹1,401.50.

UltraTech Cement bucked sectoral weakness with a 1.62 per cent gain to ₹10,822.00. Every other major sectoral index was in the red, with auto the worst performer.

On the losing side, Bajaj Finance fell 3.39 per cent to ₹924.85, Eternal declined 3.26 per cent to ₹309.75, Eicher Motors dropped 3.05 per cent to ₹7,125.00, Trent lost 2.57 per cent to ₹2,817.30, and Adani Enterprises fell 2.54 per cent to ₹2,590.00.

The Nifty Midcap 100 declined 1.7 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 2.4 per cent, indicating that the selling was broader and deeper than headline index moves suggested.

In commodities, WTI crude traded near $99.15, up about 1 per cent, staying within the $99–$100 zone as geopolitical risks around the Strait of Hormuz kept supply concerns alive. Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, flagged that “WTI crude traded near $99 a barrel, keeping energy costs and external-balance risks in focus.”

MCX Crude Oil traded near ₹9,433, up 1.31 per cent. MCX Gold eased to ₹1,46,340, down 0.12 per cent, weighed by a firmer rupee and a US 10-year Treasury yield near 5.144 per cent that raised the probability of a December Fed rate hike to around 94 per cent.

MCX Silver slipped 0.59 per cent to ₹2,10,230. The rupee extended its appreciation run for an eighth straight session, trading around ₹94.72 per dollar, drawing support from dollar inflows linked to the Jio Platforms IPO and RBI intervention near the ₹95 mark.

For the session ahead, SBI Securities placed Nifty support at 22,670–22,690, with a break below that level opening the door toward 22,500–22,520.

Resistance lies at 22,980–23,000, with a move above that level needed to revive any meaningful recovery. Meaningful call writing was observed at 22,900 and 23,000 strikes, while put open interest at 22,800 and 22,700 indicates where the market expects buyers to step in.