Stock Market Highlights Today: BSE Sensex erases most gains, ends at 77,100, Nifty50 above 24,050; oil prices fall to pre-war levels

“Nifty opened with a gap-up and extended its gains through the session to hit an intraday high of 24,262. However, profit booking at higher levels dragged the Index lower, eventually settling at 24,056, up 0.14%.

During the day, Nifty moved well past its 100-day EMA but profit booking at higher levels led to the Index failing to yet again give a decisive close above the same. This is the fourth instance in the last six sessions, where the Nifty failed to close above the 100-day EMA. Having said that, the index found strong support in the 23,780–23,820 zone for the second consecutive week and rebounded sharply, highlighting buying interest at lower levels. The DI+ has crossed above the DI- on the ADX indicator, indicating that bulls remain firmly in control.

The broader markets underperformed the benchmark indices and closed in negative territory. Both the Midcap and Smallcap indices formed small-bodied bearish candles on the daily chart. Despite today's weakness, both indices continue to trade above their key moving averages, suggesting that the near-term bullish trend remains intact.

The market breadth turned weak as the advance decline ratio was titled in the favour of bears at day’s close. A total of 336 out of the Nifty 500 stocks ended in red,” says Sudeep Shah, Head - Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities.

Vodafone Idea (Vi) shares have rallied nearly 80% in under three months and have gained about 110% over the past year. Despite the sharp rise, analysts have urged investors to remain cautious, pointing to concerns surrounding the company's underlying fundamentals.

The stock had fallen to a multi-month low of ₹8.13 on the NSE in April before staging a strong recovery. It subsequently climbed around 89% to touch a fresh 52-week high of ₹15.34 earlier this month. Although the stock has eased from that peak, it continues to trade well above its April low.

A series of positive developments has supported the recent rally. In early May, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) reduced Vodafone Idea's adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues by 27% to ₹64,046 crore as of December 31, prompting several bullish views on the stock.

The momentum received another boost after billionaire industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla returned as the company's non-executive chairman, nearly five years after stepping down from the position during a period of financial difficulties at the telecom operator. More recently, Vodafone Idea announced that it had raised ₹1,182 crore from promoter Aditya Birla Group through a warrant issue, providing another positive trigger for the stock.

Shares of gold financing companies fell by as much as 3% on Thursday as a sharp decline in gold prices weighed on sentiment. The precious metal remained under pressure as the US dollar headed for its strongest monthly gain in nearly a year amid rising expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates later this year.

Manappuram Finance led the losses, with its shares dropping nearly 3% to ₹309.35 on the NSE. Muthoot Finance and IIFL Finance also came under selling pressure, declining more than 2% each.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency against a basket of six major global currencies, climbed to its highest level in over a year on Wednesday and was trading around 101.5 on Thursday. The rally reflects growing market expectations that the US Federal Reserve will maintain a hawkish stance, prompting traders to increase bets on an interest rate hike later this year.

Although the Federal Reserve left benchmark interest rates unchanged at its latest policy meeting, a larger number of policymakers indicated that borrowing costs could rise before the end of the year as inflation continues to remain above the central bank's 2% target. In the first Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting chaired by Kevin Warsh, the Fed observed that inflation was still elevated relative to its objective, citing supply-side disruptions that have pushed up prices in sectors such as energy.

According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets are currently pricing in three interest rate hikes this year, with the probability of a September increase estimated at about 67%. While gold is traditionally regarded as a hedge against inflation, its appeal tends to diminish in a higher interest-rate environment because it does not generate any yield.

The frontline indices surged to their highest levels in over six weeks on the back of strong buying in frontline Banking and Auto stocks. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and M&M are the top three contributors at the current juncture.

Coming to Nifty, the zone of 24140-24100 will act as a crucial support for the index while the resistance lies in the zone of 24320-24340.

On the downside, if the index slips below the level of 24100 then the next support is placed in the zone of 24030-24010.

In an event of a surge above 24340, the index can experience an extension of the rally towards 24540.

On the options front, meaningful call writing witnessed across 24300 & 24400 strikes. On the put side, 24200 has a substantial open interest, followed by 24100 strike.

Nifty's Advance Decline Ratio is at 35:15.

Speaking of Sensex levels, support is at 77200 while resistance is at 78000.

Aviation stocks, including InterGlobe Aviation, which operates IndiGo, and SpiceJet, climbed as much as 4% on Thursday after crude oil prices fell below the levels prevailing before the Iran war broke out on February 28.

Following the latest selloff, crude prices have now dropped 42% from the peak of $126 per barrel recorded on April 30, when the closure of the Strait of Hormuz triggered concerns over a significant disruption to global oil supplies.

Shares of IndiGo advanced 3.5% to an intraday high of ₹5,386, while budget airline SpiceJet gained 4% to touch ₹12.78 during morning trading.

The initial public offering (IPO) of Jaipur-based handcrafted jewellery maker Advit Jewels has entered its third and final day of subscription. Investor optimism remains strong, with the issue attracting a grey market premium (GMP) of nearly 38%.

The public issue has already generated robust demand. At the end of the second day of bidding, the IPO had been subscribed 44.16 times, highlighting strong investor interest. The retail segment, in particular, has seen enthusiastic participation, with subscriptions reaching 35.46 times the shares reserved for individual investors.

The ₹165.16-crore IPO is entirely a fresh issue comprising 1.20 crore equity shares and does not include an Offer for Sale (OFS). Consequently, the full amount raised through the offering will accrue to the company. The price band has been fixed at ₹130-138 per share, and retail investors must bid for a minimum lot of 100 shares, requiring an investment of ₹13,800 at the upper end of the price range.

Share allotment is likely to be completed on June 29, while the company's shares are expected to list on the BSE and NSE on July 1, 2026, subject to the necessary regulatory approvals.

"There are significant trends that will influence the market in the near-term. The biggest positive for India is Brent crude falling to below $73 level. With this, the CAD and BoP deficits which were threatening India’s macro stability have ceased to be serious concerns. This will have positive implications for India’s GDP growth and inflation in FY27 and consequently for the market,too.

From the market perspective, this is a strong bullish factor. The negative factor continues to be the deficient monsoon. The sectors that will be negatively impacted by deficient monsoon like tractors and agro-machinery, fertilisers and crop-protection products, FMCG and entry level two-wheelers dependent significantly on rural demand, will be impacted by deficient monsoon. On the contrary, premium consumption including FMCG whose demand primarily comes from urban areas, luxury consumption including high-priced automobiles, IT and export-oriented segments will not be impacted by deficient monsoon. Pharmaceuticals with inelastic demand is, normally, an out-performer during deficient monsoons.

The excessive volatility in the South Korean market continues with 10% crash in one day and 5% up move on another day. The huge profitability of the semiconductor companies is attracting buyers on declines despite the concentration risks in this investment. FII flows will be influenced by this trend,” says VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.

Index formed a bullish engulfing candlestick pattern highlighting strong buying demand around the 57,000 levels. The index in the process recouped its entire previous session decline and closed above the last week high 58021 on Wednesday session.

Going ahead bias remain positive and index to gradually head towards 59,200 levels in the coming sessions being the measuring implication of the recent range breakout and the 138.2% external retracement of the previous decline 57456-52783.

The last two weeks lows are placed around 57,000 levels, hence immediate bias remain positive above the same. The daily 14 periods RSI remain in up trend and is seen rebounding taking support at its nine periods average.

“Indian equities are expected to regain their positive momentum, supported by renewed buying interest and lower energy prices. Brent crude is at near four-month levels, as vessel movement through the Strait of Hormuz is witnessing steady improvement. Additionally, the southwest monsoon has resumed its advance across the country, improving investor sentiment. Domestic markets staged a strong recovery on Wednesday following the previous session's profit booking, with the Nifty 50 gaining 0.8% to close at 24,021. Sentiment was supported by optimism surrounding the near-finalisation of the India-US interim trade agreement ahead of the 24 July tariff deadline, favourable global cues, and softer crude oil prices.

Buying interest was particularly visible in Information Technology and private banking stocks, with the Nifty IT index gaining 2% following the recent correction and Bank Nifty advanced 1.7% after comments from the RBI Governor reinforced expectations that domestic rate hikes are unlikely in the near term. Market volatility also eased, with India VIX declining 4.4%. Broader markets participated in the rally, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices gaining 0.1% and 0.4%, respectively. Sectors such as Financials are likely to remain in focus after the RBI issued additional clarifications on the FCNR(B) deposit scheme to encourage greater participation by banks and overseas investors.

Oil sensitive sectors like OMCs, aviation would also be in focus as they stand to benefit from lower crude oil prices. On the commodities front, precious metals remained under pressure amid easing geopolitical tensions. Gold has declined 12% during the June quarter, marking its sharpest quarterly fall since Dec'16, while silver has corrected 17.6%, its steepest decline since June'22. Meanwhile, the government expects credit demand of nearly ₹2 lakh crore under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 5.0.

The scheme is intended to provide additional liquidity support to businesses facing potential disruptions from geopolitical uncertainties and supply-chain challenges. Going forward, investors will closely monitor crude oil prices, the progress of the southwest monsoon, developments in US-Iran negotiations and the finalisation of the India-US trade agreement. Any further progress on geopolitical and trade-related fronts, coupled with stable energy prices and sustained foreign inflows, could provide additional support to domestic equities,” says Siddhartha Khemka - Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

Oil prices continued to move lower on Thursday, approaching levels seen before the outbreak of the war, as concerns over supply disruptions eased following the departure of stranded tankers from the Strait of Hormuz after an initial agreement to end the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

Brent crude futures for August delivery were down 40 cents, or 0.54%, at $73.34 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slipped 27 cents, or 0.38%, to $70.07 per barrel.

The August Brent contract was trading below the September contract, which stood at $73.59 per barrel, indicating that the market expects adequate crude supplies in the near term.

US markets ended mixed on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 finishing lower as technology stocks remained under pressure amid persistent concerns over elevated valuations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, closed higher, supported by gains in airline and travel-related stocks following a sharp decline in oil prices.

Crude prices fell to their lowest levels since the Iran war began as expectations grew that more oil tankers would resume transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Adding to the positive sentiment, US President Donald Trump said Iran had informed Washington that it had no plans to impose transit charges on vessels using the strategic waterway.

The S&P 500 passenger airlines index climbed 5.2%, while travel-related companies Expedia Group and Booking Holdings also ended the session with gains.

Technology shares continued to weaken, with investor attention centred on semiconductor company Micron Technology's quarterly earnings, released after the market closed. Although the stock had rallied more than 200% in 2026, it ended Wednesday's session 0.3% lower. However, shares surged in extended trading after the company reported quarterly revenue and fourth-quarter guidance that exceeded Wall Street expectations.

Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, six finished in positive territory. Industrials led the gains with a 1.2% advance, while the consumer discretionary sector rose 0.8%, helping offset declines recorded in the technology and energy sectors.

Nifty witnessed a strong rebound on Wednesday session to close above the 24,000 levels. In the daily chart it has formed a bullish piercing line candlestick pattern highlighting buying demand around the support area of 23,800 being the confluence of the previous gap area and 20- and 50-days EMA.

Nifty managed to hold above the support area of 23,800 and witnessed a pullback in today’s session. Going ahead, bias remain positive and index to head higher towards last week high of 24,190 levels in the coming session. Dips if any towards 23,900 should be used as a buying opportunity.

The key short-term support is placed at 23,500–23,600 zone being the recent breakout area and the key retracement of recent pullback. On the higher side major resistance is seen at 24,600 levels being the April high and the placement of the 200 days EMA.