India’s benchmark indices — the Nifty and the BSE Sensex — ended sharply lower on Friday amid broad-based selling pressure. Auto, financials and FMCG stocks were among the biggest laggards, while the IT sector witnessed selective buying.

In a volatile trading session, the broader Nifty fell 317.90 points, or 1.25%, to close at 25,178.65. The 30-share Sensex tumbled 961.42 points, or 1.17%, to settle at 81,287.19.

Meanwhile, the volatility gauge India VIX ended at 13.70, up 4.89% from the last closing.

Here’s how analysts read the market pulse:

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said the index has declined sharply after remaining below its key short-term moving average for three consecutive sessions. It has also slipped beneath the 200-day moving average (DMA), signalling that the prevailing weakness could persist for some time.“The RSI indicator has turned sharply bearish. In the short term, the index may continue to face selling pressure, with rallies likely to be sold into. Immediate support is placed at 25,000 and 24,750, while resistance is seen at 25,370,” De said.

US markets

Frontline indices on Wall Street ended lower on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 521.28 points, or 1%, to close at 48,977.90. The Nasdaq Composite declined 210 points, or 1%, to settle at 22,668.20. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 also finished in the red, though with a relatively milder loss of 0.43

European Markets

European markets also reflected a cautious tone. Spain’s IBEX 35 and France’s CAC 40 declined by as much as 0.73%. Germany’s DAX ended largely flat, while the pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.6% and the UK’s FTSE 100 added 0.1%.

Tech View

Nilesh Jain, Vice President and Head of Technical and Derivative Research at Centrum Finverse, said the Nifty has slipped below its crucial 200-day moving average (DMA) placed at 25,350, which is now expected to act as an immediate resistance zone. The index continues to form lower highs and lower lows on the daily chart, indicating a weakening trend, he noted.

“Momentum indicators remain cautious, with the MACD signalling a sell crossover and the RSI gradually trending lower. Meanwhile, India VIX has risen 5% to around 13.50, and any further spike in volatility could intensify downside risks. The key psychological support is now seen at the 25,000 level. The broader technical structure suggests continued weakness, with pullbacks likely to encounter selling pressure,” Jain added.

Most active stocks in terms of turnover

Tejas Networks (Rs 551 crore), Redington (Rs 275), Cholamandalam Financial Holdings (Rs 262 crore), Netweb Technologies (Rs 240 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 214 crore), State Bank of India (Rs 213 crore) and Bharti Airtel (Rs 182 crore) were among the most active stocks on BSE in value terms. Higher activity in a counter in value terms can help identify the counters with highest trading turnovers in the day.

Most active stocks in volume terms

SpiceJet (Traded shares: 7.17 crore), Vishal Mega Mart (Traded shares: 1.34 crore), Tejas Networks (Traded shares: 1.32 crore), Redington (Traded shares: 99.63 lakh), Ola Electric (Traded shares: 63.35 lakh), Suzlon Energy (Traded shares: 62.71 lakh) and and Steel Authority of India (SAIL, Traded shares: 53.35 lakh) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on BSE.

Stocks showing buying interest

Xtglobal Infotech, Tejas Networks, Shares of Sarda Energy & Minerals, VL E-Governance & IT Solutions, Avadh Sugar & Energy, Foseco India and Foseco India were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.

52 Week high

On the market breadth front, 100 stocks touched their 52-week highs, while 340 stocks fell to their 52-week lows.

Among those scaling fresh 52-week highs were Aeroflex Industries, Bank of India, Bharat Forge, Cummins India, Data Patterns (India), Eicher Motors and Federal Bank.

Stocks are seeing selling pressure

Among the largecap names were Adani Enterprises, Maruti Suzuki and Bharti Airtel. Other stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were Fusion Finance, Vishal Mega Mart, Home First Finance, Angel One, R M Drip and Sprinklers Systems, Mahalaxmi Fabric Mills and Apex Frozen Foods.

Sentiment meter favours bears

Heavyweights like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel dragged the markets with breadth, staying negative in the overall markets. Out of the 4,369 stocks that traded on the BSE on February 27, Friday, 1,574 stocks witnessed advances, 2,633 saw declines while 162 stocks remained unchanged.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)