Key Highlights:

  • Sensex plunged 1,247.71 points, or 1.67%, to close at 73,580.54, while Nifty declined 383.70 points to settle at 23,063.10.
  • Bajaj Finance, HDFC Life Insurance and Axis Bank emerged as the top laggards, with only three Nifty constituents ending in positive territory.
  • Nifty Financial Services, Nifty Bank and Nifty Private Bank were among the worst-performing sectoral gauges.
  • Nifty MidCap fell 2.25% and Smallcap declined 1.53%, showing weakness extended well beyond frontline stocks.
  • Analysts flagged RSI around 31 and a deeply negative MACD, warning a sustained close below 23,000 could extend losses toward 22,900-22,800.

A Sharp Selloff Grips the Market

Indian equity benchmark indices witnessed a sharp selloff on Thursday as investors turned risk-averse amid firm crude oil prices and a global bond market rout, dragging banking and financial stocks lower.

Closing Numbers

The Sensex plunged 1,247.71 points, or 1.67 per cent, to close at 73,580.54, while the Nifty declined 383.70 points, or 1.64 per cent, to settle at 23,063.10, marking one of the sharper single-day declines seen in recent sessions.

Nifty's Technical Outlook

Commenting on the Nifty's technical outlook, experts said that a sustained close below 23,000 could extend the downside toward the 22,900-22,800 zone, while 23,200 is likely to act as the immediate resistance during recovery attempts, giving a clear sense of the technical stakes riding on the index's next moves.

Weak Momentum Indicators

"Momentum indicators remain weak, with the RSI around 31, reflecting strong negative momentum and approaching oversold territory. The MACD remains deeply in negative territory, confirming continued weakness," market watchers stated, painting a fairly bearish technical picture heading into the next trading session.

A Look at Options Data

"On the options front, Call OI stands at around 23.84 crore versus Put OI of around 17.23 crore, with significant Call OI visible around 23,200 and 23,500, while Put OI is concentrated around the 23,000 zone," analysts noted, giving traders further insight into where key resistance and support levels may hold based on current options positioning.

Weakness Extending Across the Broader Market

Weak sentiment was visible across the broader market, with selling pressure extending beyond frontline stocks. The Nifty MidCap index ended 2.25 per cent lower, while the Nifty SmallCap index fell 1.53 per cent, both registering steeper declines than the benchmark indices themselves.

Top Laggards on the Nifty

Among the Nifty constituents, all but three stocks ended the session in negative territory. Bajaj Finance, HDFC Life Insurance Company and Axis Bank emerged as the top laggards, contributing significantly to the benchmark indices' decline, underscoring just how broad-based Thursday's selloff proved to be.

Financial Stocks Hit Hardest

Sectorally, financial stocks bore the brunt of the selloff. The Nifty Financial Services, Nifty Bank and Nifty Private Bank indices were among the worst-performing sectoral gauges, as rising bond yields and global uncertainty weighed on investor sentiment toward the sector, directly reflecting the pressure stemming from the global bond market rout.

Defensive Sectors Offer Limited Resilience

Defensive pockets of the market offered some resilience, although they too ended in the red. The Nifty Media and Nifty Pharma indices recorded comparatively smaller losses than the broader market, suggesting that even traditionally more defensive sectors were not entirely insulated from the day's broader risk-off sentiment.

A Cautious Market Backdrop

Experts said that market participants remained cautious amid concerns over elevated oil prices and a global bond selloff, which fuelled risk-off sentiment and prompted investors to reduce exposure to equities, reflecting a broader pullback in risk appetite that extended well beyond the Indian market alone and appeared to be shaped by international macroeconomic developments.