Nifty falls below 22,300 at noon as Adani Stocks, ITC, Metals slide

Markets extended their morning losses sharply through midday on Thursday, with the Nifty 50 sliding 311 points and the Sensex shedding nearly 890 points by early afternoon as broad-based selling intensified across sectors, dragging the indices closer to key technical support zones.

As of 12.38 pm, the Sensex was trading at 71,748.94, down 889.76 points or 1.22 per cent, while the Nifty 50 had slipped to 22,291.85, a fall of 311.20 points or 1.38 per cent. India VIX — a measure of near-term market volatility — surged over 5 per cent, indicating rising investor anxiety. On the BSE, market breadth was heavily negative, with 3,176 stocks declining against just 986 advancing. A total of 235 stocks hit fresh 52-week lows, compared to 113 touching 52-week highs, while 211 stocks were locked in lower circuits against 141 in upper circuits. The Nifty’s Advance-Decline ratio stood at a lopsided 8:42.

Major laggards

Adani Enterprises was the Nifty’s worst performer, plunging 6.57 per cent to ₹2,562.90, while group peer Adani Ports fell 3.97 per cent to ₹1,680.70. ITC tumbled 4.08 per cent to ₹254.85, and JSW Steel shed 4.07 per cent to ₹1,180.00. Max Healthcare was also among the major laggards, down 3.76 per cent to ₹873.90. Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank were identified as the top contributors to the Nifty’s overall decline at mid-session.

Nifty Metal was the worst-performing sectoral index, extending losses from Wednesday’s 2.35 per cent fall. Nifty Realty also came under sharp pressure as higher borrowing costs following the RBI’s 25-basis-point repo rate hike to 5.50 per cent weighed on interest rate-sensitive stocks. Barring IT, all major sectoral indices were trading in the red.

IT sector bucks trend

The lone bright spot was the IT sector. TCS held on to gains of 1.04 per cent at ₹2,102.00, ahead of its Q2 FY27 results due after market hours. Infosys rose 0.75 per cent to ₹999.40, HCL Technologies added 0.66 per cent to ₹1,192.80, Axis Bank gained 0.66 per cent to ₹1,250.70, and Tech Mahindra edged up 0.59 per cent to ₹1,499.90.

On the commodity front, MCX Crude Oil rose 1.72 per cent to ₹8,700, tracking WTI crude, which was up 1.16 per cent at around $90 per barrel. MCX Gold gained 0.39 per cent to ₹149,689, mirroring a 0.37 per cent rise in COMEX Gold to around $4,160. The rupee remained under pressure, holding just above 96.70 against the dollar with RSI in overbought territory, near record-low levels.

Technicals

Technically, the Nifty’s next key support lies in the 22,190–22,210 band. A breach below 22,190 could expose the index to 22,020–22,040. On the upside, 22,500–22,520 remains a stiff resistance zone, with meaningful call writing seen at the 22,400 and 22,500 strikes. For the Sensex, support is at 71,500 and resistance at 72,400. With roughly three hours of trade remaining, the market’s ability to hold the 22,200 level will be closely watched.