10 things that will decide D-Street action on Thursday

The Indian stock market closed higher on Wednesday, overcoming a stuttering start, with financial stocks leading the advances, supported by strong domestic fundamentals, including foreign investor buying and a five-year low in domestic retail inflation, helping the market outperform regional peers.

The benchmark BSE Sensex gained 309.40 points or 0.40% to close at 77,044.29, while the broader Nifty 50 index closed at 23,437.20, higher by 108.65 points or 0.47%.

Here's how analysts read the market pulse:
Globally, markets are undergoing fresh consolidation as tariff tensions intensify, with the U.S. increasing tariffs to 245% on Chinese goods and amidst the global weakness, the Indian market exhibited a mild positive sentiment in anticipation that the trade fight between the U.S. & China will not harm but benefit India, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments, adding that March's CPI inflation which is at a 5-year low is indicative of further rate cuts in the near future.

"Domestically, the Q4FY25 earnings season has started on a weak note. Overall expectations remain subdued, suggesting potential profit booking at higher levels," said Nair.

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US markets
Wall Street's main indexes slid on Wednesday, with chipmakers leading declines as Nvidia warned of steep charges from new U.S. curbs on its chip exports to China, making it one of the biggest casualties of the trade war between the two countries.

Global chip stocks took a battering as U.S. President Donald Trump's shifting trade policy appeared to muddy the outlook for semiconductor and computing giants, including Nvidia and AMD.

The U.S. Commerce Department late on Tuesday issued new export licensing requirements for Nvidia's H20 and AMD's MI308 artificial-intelligence chips to China. Nvidia said it faces $5.5 billion in charges after the restrictions, while AMD said it expects an $800 million hit.

Shares of both companies slumped, with Nvidia down 5.5% and AMD shares losing 5.7%. Other chip stocks also lost ground, with Micron Technology down 2.5% and Broadcom falling 3.1%.

European shares

Energy shares led Britain's benchmark stock index higher on Wednesday, as a softer-than-expected inflation print lifted investor sentiment.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index advanced 0.3%, recovering from early losses, while the midcap index was unchanged on the day.

The gain for the FTSE 100 extended Tuesday's rally, which followed U.S. President Donald Trump's hints at potential exemptions for auto-related tariffs.

The energy sub-index climbed 2.7% as oil prices rose around 1%, with the market drawing some strength from the possibility of trade talks between China and the United States and a report that Iraq will cut oil production in April.

Gold miners shone as prices of the precious metal crossed $3,300 for the first time on safe-haven demand. Endeavour Mining led blue-chip gainers with a 6.3% rise, while Hochschild was among the best performers on the midcap index, advancing 5.5%.

British inflation fell to a three-month low of 2.6% in March, but experts warned the relief precedes April's utility bill increases and employer tax hikes that could push the rate back to 3%.

Tech View
The Nifty closed higher after initial weakness in the first half of the session and on the daily chart, the index has closed above the 100-EMA for the second consecutive session, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, adding that "support is now placed at 23,300, and a positive sentiment is likely to prevail as long as it remains above this level."

"A decisive fall below 23,300 might trigger a correction towards 23,150/23,000. On the higher side, resistance is visible at 23,650," De said.

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Most active stocks in terms of turnover
IndusInd Bank (Rs 2,412 crore), IREDA (Rs 2,043 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 1,896 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 1,793 crore), Infosys (Rs 1,695 crore), JBM Auto (Rs 1,526 crore) and Axis Bank (Rs 1,475 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
Vodafone Idea (Traded shares: 40.45 crore), IREDA (Traded shares: 11.55 crore), YES Bank (Traded shares: 8.57 crore), Ola Electric Mobility (Traded shares: 5.80 crore), NBCC (Traded shares: 5.62 crore), NTPC Green Energy (Traded shares: 4.56 crore) and Tata Steel (Traded shares: 4.26 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on NSE.

Stocks showing buying interest
Shares of Sai Life Science, Intellect Design Arena, Data Patterns (India), Valor Estate, Akums Drugs & Pharma, PTC Industries and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.

52 Week high
Over 78 stocks hit their 52 week highs today while 30 stocks slipped to their 52-week lows. Among the ones which hit their 52 week highs included HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel.

Stocks seeing selling pressure
Stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were Zydus Lifesciences, Sai Life Science, Mahanagar Gas, AstraZeneca, Lupin, Sona BLW Precision and Rainbow Childrens.

Sentiment meter bullish
The market sentiments were bullish. Out of the 4,078 stocks that traded on the BSE on Wednesday, 1,364 stocks witnessed declines, 2,594 saw advances, while 120 stocks remained unchanged.

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