Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 10 (ANI): Indian equity indices closed the day in negative territory, dragged down by declines in IT shares. Stock markets faced selling pressure at higher levels on Thursday. At the end of trading, BSE Sensex fell 345.80 points or 0.41 per cent to 83,190.28, while the Nifty 50 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) dropped 120.85 points or 0.47 per cent to 25,355.25. From a sectoral perspective, the Nifty Realty and Nifty Metal indices performed better, driven by targeted buying activity. However, defensive sectors such as Nifty FMCG, alongside Nifty PSU Bank, faced profit-taking and closed in negative territory. The wider market also reflected the benchmark's lackluster performance, with both Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 ending lower. The advance-decline ratio remained largely stable for the second consecutive session, indicating continued consolidation throughout the market. Within the Nifty 50 group, IndusInd Bank and Maruti Suzuki were the top performers, providing some stability against the overall weak trend. Conversely, Bharti Airtel and Asian Paints were the main contributors to the index's decline. Market participants were closely monitoring the first quarter results of the tech giant Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, which reported a 4 per cent increase in net profit. According to market analysts, volatility is anticipated to continue throughout the day, fueled by growing expectations of a potential trade agreement with the US and the start of the June-quarter earnings season.
ObseAnalyzing investor sentiment, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, stated, "Investor sentiment continues to be cautious before the Q1 results, with expectations of a subdued beginning for the season from the IT and finance sectors. However, the recent consolidation in IT stocks has largely accounted for this muted outlook, reducing further concerns." "Today, the market moved within a tight range as investors stayed cautious ahead of various trade agreements and the US's threatening tariff policies. Based on current momentum, the market is expected to see a pause in the upward trend until there is more clarity on these issues," said VLA Ambala, Co-Founder of Stock Market Today. Experts suggest that due to sector-specific impacts, some sectors might face a short-term slowdown in the upcoming Q2, which is affecting overall sentiments.bseFocusing on the technical aspects, Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, stated, "A long negative candle was formed on the daily chart, indicating a recent unsuccessful attempt to break out of a narrow range and the market is now near the lower end of the range at 25300." "Despite the ongoing consolidation, the benchmark Nifty index continues to trade above its key moving averages, showing underlying strength in the overall trend. However, the momentum seems to be weakening, as the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has dropped below 60 — a sign that bullish momentum is gradually decreasing," said Sudeep Shah, Head - Technical and Derivatives Research, SBI Securities. Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities, mentioned that technically, after a quiet start, the market faced steady selling pressure throughout the day at higher levels. "We believe the intraday market outlook is weak; however, a new selloff might occur only after the level of 25,300/83,000 is broken. Below these levels, the market could fall to 25,200/82,700. Further selling pressure may persist, potentially pushing the market down to 25,225/82,500," Chouhan added. (ANI)