US Futures see a reversal as Dow plunges nearly 2%; ECB cuts interest rates – Highlights

The European Central Bank announced yet another 25-basis-point interest rate cut on Thursday amid continued upheaval due to US tariffs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures tumbled 619 points — driven by a 19% decline in UnitedHealth. Meanwhile S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures rose slightly as traders tried to claw back some of the steep losses suffered on Wednesday.

The Indian equity markets closed the session on a higher note, paring early hour losses. The markets have extended gains for the fourth consecutive session. The Nifty 50 closed 403 points or 1.72% higher at 23,840 while the Sensex jumped 1,454 points or 1.89% higher at 78,498.

HDFC Bank’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday, rising 2.2% to an intra-day high of Rs 1,919.70 on the National Stock Exchange. The stock was one of the major movers in the Nifty 50, leading the gains for the day. The stock has given a return of almost 7% from year to date. It has risen by more than 27% in the last one year.

In the Sensex 30 pack, Eternal led the gains, rising 5.36% to Rs 233.95, followed by ICICI Bank up 3.44% at Rs 1403.40, SBI gaining 3.39% to Rs 797.95, Bharti Airtel up 3.26% at Rs 1882.35, and Sun Pharma advancing 3.18% to Rs 1746.50. On the flip side, HCL Tech slipped 0.46% to Rs 1425.60, while Tech Mahindra declined 0.78% to Rs 1298.80, making them the top losers at this hour.

In a sign of strong market sentiment, out of 2,755 stocks traded on the Nifty at this hour, a healthy 1,853 are advancing while only 820 are in the red, with 82 stocks remaining unchanged. Adding to the bullish tone, 55 stocks have hit their 52-week highs, while just 15 slipped to their yearly lows. Meanwhile, 89 stocks have locked in upper circuits, compared to 22 in lower circuits.

There’s a sudden surge in markets. The Bulls are back in the game. The Nifty 50 was up 0.74% or 175 points at 23,617 while the Sensex surged 659 points or 0.85% at 77,705. The list of sectoral indices shows that private bank stocks were the biggest movers, leading the charts, followed by a list of oil & gas stocks.

At this hour, Bharti Airtel is leading the gainers pack on the Nifty 50, up by 3%, followed by ICICI Bank with a 2.5% rise. Other notable performers include Sun Pharma, Eicher Motors, and Grasim, each gaining close to 2%. On the flip side, Wipro is the top laggard, falling over 5%, while Hero MotoCorp, Tech Mahindra, L&T, and HCL Tech are trading lower by 1–2%.

The markets surged in afternoon trade with the Nifty comfortably above 23,600. The Futures market saw significant OI build-up at 23,600 levels. The buildup in 23,600 Puts indicate that the uptrend may continue for some time.

IDFC First Bank saw a sharp recovery in intraday trade after slipping nearly 4% in early morning deals. The stock, which opened on a weak note, managed to bounce back strongly and is now trading at Rs 63.55, up 0.5% from the previous close.

Read more: IDFC First Bank shares see sharp recovery; board approves raising Rs 7,500 cr via preferential issue

In intraday trade on Wednesday, the Indian stock markets saw a strong rebound with benchmark indices climbing sharply. The Sensex jumped over 636 points, or 0.83%, to hit 77,681.13, while the Nifty soared 173 points, or 0.74%, to touch 23,610.40.

Though a rather flat day for the markets, banking is one sector tat’s seeing significant traction. A quick analysis of the list of bank stocks will indicate that both large caps as well as small and midcap bank stocks are seeing brisk buying in trade today.

ICICI Bank is among the top Index gainers in trade today

The entire tech pack is under pressure after Wipro‘s disappointing Q1 guidance. If you check the list of information and technology stocks today, most of the large cap tech stocks are down anywhere between 2-4%. Wipro has seen massive 6% cut followed by HCL Tech, down 2.5%.

Ahead of its highly anticipated Q4 earnings announcement, the share price of IT giant Infosys is trading lower in early morning deals, down by 2% at Rs 1,386.50.

Read More: Infosys Q4 results today: Can earnings reverse 25% slide in 2025? 4 key factors to watch

The share price of Gensol Engineering has hit the lower circuit for the second consecutive session after SEBI barred the promoter and founder, Jaggi brothers, from the securities market. The stock has touched a new 52-week low of Rs 116.54 today. The promoters stepped down late last evening, as per exchange filing.

Also, the stock is now placed under the ESM 1 category. Stocks under ESM 1 are subject to stricter surveillance and may experience limitations on trading, like a price band of 5% or 2% (whichever is applicable) is enforced. ESM 1 refers to Stage 1 of the Enhanced Surveillance Measure (ESM) framework, a regulatory mechanism by SEBI and exchanges to enhance market monitoring.

At this hour, the broader market is showing mild weakness. The BSE MidCap index is down by 111.70 points, or 0.27%, trading at 41,634.52. Meanwhile, the BSE SmallCap index is relatively steady, slipping just 13.30 points, or 0.03%, to 47,685.05.

The top gainers at this hour include ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, Shriram Finance and Apollo Hospital. On the other hand, the key laggards in the early trading hours are Wipro down 6%, HCL Tech, Hero MotoCorp, Coal India and Tata Steel.

The domestic markets opened Thursday’s trade on a flat to negative note. The Nifty 50 was down 47 points or 0.20% to open at 23,390, while the BSE Sensex opened 112 points or 0.15% lower at 76,932. The banking index followed suit, Nifty Bank opened the trade up 27 points or 0.05% at 53,145. The BSE Midcap rose 88.3 points or 0.21% to 41,835.

“India’s recent outperformance is striking. We are the only large market that has erased all losses incurred after April 2nd closed above the pre-April 2nd level. What accounts for this outperformance? One, India, which is a domestic consumption-driven economy, will be one of the least impacted by the tariff crisis. Two, the market is discounting the possibility of a bilateral trade agreement between the US and India within a few months,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments.

Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities says, “The positive momentum could continue up to 23,500/77,300. Additionally, with improved support from several sectors, the market might even surpass the levels of 23,575/77,500. The strategy should be to buy between 23,200 and 23,100 levels with a stop loss at 23,000 on a closing basis.”

IT major Infosys will announce its quarterly earnings today. Investors will also be watching out for a possible dividend announcement, as the company’s board is expected to decide on the payout and fix the record date along with the Q4 results.

“Wipro’s Q4 growth remained nearly flat at 0.8% in constant currency, primarily impacted by weak discretionary spending and ongoing global economic uncertainty. Still, there are positive signs for future performance, driven by a strong deal pipeline and recovery in key sectors like BFSI and healthcare, which may offset weaker-performing areas. The company is prioritising large deal execution, strengthening client relationships, expanding AI and Genai capabilities, and adapting its operations to evolving market needs,” said Biswajit Maity, Senior Principal Analyst at Gartner.

Stocks that will be in focus due to various developments include Wipro, DLF, Paytm, Tata Steel, Lupin, UltraTech Cement, BHEL, IRFC, Dalmia Bharat, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.

Wall Street ended sharply lower on Wednesday, with tech stocks leading the decline. The Dow Jones dropped by 699.57 points, or 1.73%, closing at 39,669.39. The S&P 500 fell 2.24% to 5,275.70, hit by losses in the tech sector. The Nasdaq dropped 3.07% to 16,307.16.

Asia-Pacific markets saw mostly gains on Thursday, led by Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, which rose over 1%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi also saw modest increases, with the Kosdaq up more than 1% after the Bank of Korea held interest rates steady at 2.75%. Australia’s ASX 200 edged higher, while Mainland China’s CSI 300 was the only index to decline slightly.

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