Ahead of Market: 10 things that will decide stock market action on Sunday

The Indian market ended lower on Friday, with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty retreating from recent highs as investors turned defensive ahead of the Union Budget this weekend.

By the end of the session, the benchmarks had pared some losses, with the Sensex down 296.59 points or 0.36% at 82,269.78, while the Nifty fell 98 points or 0.39% to end at 25,320.65.

Here's how analysts read the market pulse:

Indian equity markets remained volatile ahead of the Union Budget, with benchmark indices dragged lower by weakness in IT and metal stocks, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, adding that the IT sector lagged due to global growth concerns and higher U.S. bond yields, while gold and silver declined amid a stronger dollar and persistent FII selling and continued rupee depreciation kept market sentiment cautious.

“With geopolitical risks and global tariff pressures rising, the Union Budget is keenly awaited for cues on growth support and fiscal discipline. Globally, although a deal to avert the latest U.S. government shutdown provided temporary relief, markets remain watchful ahead of the appointment of a new Fed Chair, as a more hawkish stance could tighten liquidity and weigh on emerging markets," said Nair.

Also read: A 'non-event Budget' for stock market: Is that good news for Nifty which fell 1,000 points in January?

US markets

Wall Street slipped on Friday as investors viewed President Donald Trump’s pick of former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh—seen as a hawkish choice—to replace Jerome Powell, while contending with mixed earnings, hot inflation data, and rising geopolitical and shutdown risks. The Dow fell 0.36% to 48,892.47, the S&P 500 dropped 0.43% to 6,939.03, and the Nasdaq slid 0.94% to 23,461.82. The S&P 500 recorded 19 new 52-week highs and 10 lows, while the Nasdaq logged 72 highs and 205 lows.

European Markets

Europe’s benchmark share index closed higher on Friday, extending its longest monthly winning streak since 2021 as investors digested corporate earnings and reacted to U.S. President Donald Trump’s nomination of a former Federal Reserve policymaker to lead the central bank. The index rose 0.6% to 611 points and is on track to end January with a 3% gain, marking its seventh straight monthly advance. Banking stocks led the rally, rising 1.7%, with Caixabank jumping 6.7% after the Spanish lender projected stronger lending income and profits for this year and next.

Tech View

Technically, after a gap down, the market hovered between the 25,200/82000 to 25,350/82400 price range throughout the day, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research at Kotak Securities, adding that the narrow range activity on intraday charts and the small candle on daily charts indicate indecisiveness between the bulls and the bears.

"We are of the view that as long as the market trades above 25,200/82000, a positive sentiment is likely to continue. On the higher side, the market could move up to 25,500/82800. Further upside may also extend, potentially lifting the index up to 25,600-25,675/83000-83200. On the flip side, if the market falls below 25,200/82000, weakness is likely to increase. In such a case, we could see a quick intraday dip down to 25,000-24,900/81500-81200," said Chouhan.

Also read: Sensex, Nifty's pre-Budget correction a blessing in disguise? Here's what 15-year data shows

Most active stocks in terms of turnover

Hindustan Copper (Rs 7,917 crore), Vedanta (Rs 3,853 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 3,279 crore), Hindustan Zinc (Rs 3,248 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 2,767 crore), Dixon Tech (Rs 2,103 crore) and Axis Bank (Rs 2,023 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: 173 crore), Hindustan Copper (Traded shares: 11.3 crore), YES Bank (Traded shares: 8.19 crore), Ola Electric Mobility (Traded shares: 6.34 crore), Suzlon Energy (Traded shares: 6.04 crore), JP Power (Traded shares: 5.6 crore) and Vedanta (Traded shares: 5.4 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on NSE.

Stocks showing buying interest

Shares of Vodafone Idea, Orient Refractories, Signatureglobal (India), Tata Teleservices, OneSource Specialty, GRSE and Triveni Engineering & Industries were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.

Also read: CME raises gold, silver margins after steepest single-day plunges in decades

52 Week high

Over 78 stocks hit their 52-week highs today, while 291 stocks slipped to their 52-week lows. Among the ones which hit their 52-week highs included Nestle India, Axis Bank and SBI.

Stocks seeing selling pressure

Stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were Hindustan Zinc, Vedanta, NALCO, Hindustan Copper, Graphite India, NTPC Green Energy and Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation.

Sentiment meter bullish

The market sentiments were bullish. Out of the 4,367 stocks that traded on the BSE on Friday, 1,783 stocks witnessed declines, 2,424 saw advances, while 160 stocks remained unchanged.

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