Stock market today: The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to witness a muted start on Wednesday, tracking mixed global cues as investors remain cautious following a sharp selloff in global technology and semiconductor stocks.
The Gift Nifty indicated a flat opening for domestic equities. At 7:54 a.m., Gift Nifty was trading near 23,861.5, a premium of 9 points over the previous Nifty futures close of 23,852.50.
Asian markets traded mixed in early trade, while Wall Street ended lower overnight as heavy selling in major technology stocks weighed on investor sentiment.
Back home, domestic equities came under broad-based pressure on Tuesday, with selling visible across sectors and market capitalisation segments.
The BSE Sensex tumbled 893.39 points, or 1.16%, to close at 76,200.68, while the NSE Nifty 50 declined 278.80 points, or 1.16%, to settle at 23,824.10, marking one of the steepest single-day falls in recent weeks.
Market Outlook by Jay Thakkar, Vice President & Head of Derivatives and Quant Research, ICICI Securities
Nifty 50
Nifty 50 has closed below the 24,000 level, which has been acting as a critical level for the past couple of trading sessions. From here on, it will act as resistance as well, and until Nifty 50 closes back above 24,000, the overall trend will be sideways to negative. The 24,000 levels had the highest put base, and now it has the highest call base, whereas, on the lower side, 23,500 has an immediate put base, and below that it’s directly 23,000 levels, hence the broader range now is 24,000-23,000, within which there is a shorter range of 23,500-24,000 levels.
There was a broad-based selling pressure in the last trading session on the day of the weekly expiry of Nifty 50, and from hereon, only a close above 24,000 will indicate a reversal from down to up; else, the trend may remain negative to sideways for some more trading sessions, at least until the monthly expiry of June.
In the equity cash segment, FIIs didn’t sell much; however, in Index futures, they increased their short positions by approximately 6,000 contracts, and now their net shorts are more than 2.28 L contracts, which remains elevated, considering the easing of geopolitical tensions. The recent rise in the dollar index is a new concern for equities worldwide, along with the risk of unwinding in the AI-led trade, which has capped the upward momentum. So, based on these observations, the medium-term bias remains positive as long as the 23,000 level is held; however, the short-term bias is sideways to negative until the 24,000 level is taken out on an immediate basis.
Stocks To Buy in the near-term – Jay Thakkar
Jay Thakkar of ICICI Securities recommends BSE futures, Marico futures, and Mankind Pharma futures.
Sell BSE futures in the range of ₹9,960-9,940; stop loss ₹4,020; Targets ₹3,850-3,780
BSE witnessed a strong upward rally mainly on account of short covering, and now it has started to form lower tops and lower bottoms, with some increase in open interest in the futures segment, indicating that fresh shorts have built up, which is a negative sign. The stock has closed below the 4,000 level, which has the highest put base, and until those levels are taken out, the short-term bias remains negative. There has been a significant call writing even above 4,000 levels, which will act as a supply zone for the stock.
Buy Marico futures in the range of ₹815-830; stop loss ₹795; Target ₹860
Marico has been consolidating within a range for some time now, and after a significant unwinding, the stock is now witnessing an increase in open interest; hence, the consolidation is likely to provide a breakout on the upside. The stock has just closed at its max pain level of 825, and at the 830 strike, it has the highest call base as well. Above 830, the stock will witness call unwinding, which will help it move higher and achieve the consolidation breakout target. It has witnessed call unwinding at almost all the strikes, and it has decent put base from 800-825 levels, hence there is a good support at the lower levels, and above all, it has been outperforming the NIFTY FMCG sector in the recent past, which shows the relative strength of the stock.
Buy Mankind Pharma futures in the range of ₹2,520-2,540; stop loss below ₹2,440; Targets ₹2,580-2,610
Mankind Pharma has provided a breakout to the upside, and with that, open interest in the futures segment has increased, indicating fresh longs have built up. There has been significant outperformance by the Nifty Pharma Index over the past few weeks, and that continues, bringing overall positive momentum for the stocks as well. The stock is trading well above the 2,500 level, which is its max pain, and it has the highest call base at 2,600. Otherwise, there is strong support in the 2,450-2,500 range; hence, there is a good risk-to-reward ratio on the long side.
Disclaimer: The Research Analyst or his relatives or I-Sec do not have actual/beneficial ownership of 1% or more securities of the subject company, at the end of 23/06/2026 or have no other financial interest and do not have any material conflict of interest.
The views and recommendations provided in this analysis are those of individual analysts or broking companies, not Mint. We strongly advise investors to consult with certified experts before making any investment decisions, as market conditions can change rapidly and individual circumstances may vary.
