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

The Indian stock market erased all morning gains to close in the deep red, with Sensex seeing a sharp downturn at the fag end of the session on its first monthly expiry following the introduction of the closing auction session (CAS).

Sensex dropped 539 points or 0.7% to close at 76,934, while Nifty lost 117 points or 0.48% to end below 24,091 on Thursday. Both the benchmark indices erased all morning gains, although Sensex’s losses were sharper.

Here's how analysts read the market pulse


Expiry-led volatility and the lack of a diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East continue to keep markets range-bound in the near term, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments. While a degree of higher energy prices is largely factored into earnings expectations, the recent moderation in crude oil prices and long-term bond yields is supporting the inflation outlook, the analyst said.

Meanwhile, FII inflows and resilient earnings momentum remain supportive for Indian equities, particularly mid-caps, where several segments are relatively insulated from global uncertainties and continue to benefit from strong domestic demand trends, Nair added.

Investors now will also closely watch the US Fed chair Kevin Warsh’s upcoming Jackson Hole address for signals on inflation, interest rates, and the policy outlook, which could influence global risk sentiment and capital flows into emerging markets, the analyst explained.

US stocks

The tech-heavy Nasdaq outperformed peers on Thursday after Nvidia's blockbuster results reaffirmed the strength of the AI boom and fueled gains in technology stocks.

Nvidia shares jumped 7.3% after the chip giant's robust forecast illustrated relentless demand for AI computing, even as it warned that shortages of memory components could curb the pace of the industry's growth.

European markets

The pan-European STOXX 600 was down about 0.1% by 1157 GMT, while growing concerns over the political outlook in France drove the CAC 40 blue chip index in Paris to its lowest level in more than one month, down ‌1%.

Tech view

Nifty 50 has slipped below the rising channel on the daily timeframe, indicating an increase in bearishness in the market, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities. In addition, the index has fallen below the 50EMA, confirming a weakening trend, he said, adding that the daily RSI has also broken below its rising trendline, indicating further loss of momentum.

“Further weakness could emerge in the near term, potentially dragging the Nifty towards 23,900 and lower. On the higher end, resistance is placed at 24,200 and 24,350,” he further said.

Most active stocks in terms of turnover

HDFC Bank (Rs 3,328 crore), Bombay Burmah (Rs 2,306 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 1,667 crore), Bharti Airtel (Rs 1,655 crore), Adani Power (Rs 1,488 crore), ICICI Prudential AMC (Rs 1,475 crore), and Reliance Industries (Rs 1,455 crore) were among the most active stocks on NSE in value terms. Higher activity in a counter in value terms can help identify the counters with the highest trading turnovers in the day.

Most active stocks in volume terms

Vodafone Idea (Traded shares: 43.06 crore), NMDC Steel (Traded shares: 8.66 crore), Adani Power (Traded shares: 7 crore), HDFC Bank (Traded shares: 4.65 crore), IFCI (Traded shares: 4.46 crore), Tata Steel (Traded shares: 4.09 crore), and Yes Bank (Traded shares: 4.08 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on NSE.

Also read | HDFC Bank shares fall 2% to fresh 52-week low, tumble 30% in 10 months. What lies ahead?

Stocks showing buying interest

Bombay Burmah, Whirlpool India, NMDC Steel, Apar Industries, BHEL, Welspun Corp and Wockhardt were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.

52-week high

Among the ones which hit their 52-week highs on NSE included Welspun Corp, HFCL, Global Health, Jindal Saw, Solar Industries, Laurus Labs and Sai Life Science.

Stocks seeing selling pressure

Stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were Ramco Cements, Manappuram Finance, CONCOR, Capri Global, ICICI Prudential AMC, Sapphire Foods and Concord Biotech.

52-week low

Among the ones which hit their 52-week lows on NSE included RVNL, HDFC Bank, Groww, Inox Wind, Aditya Birla Retail, Dabur India and IRFC.

Sentiment meter favours bulls

Out of the 3,619 stocks that traded on the NSE on August 27, Thursday, 1,341 stocks witnessed advances, 2,160 saw declines while 118 stocks remained unchanged.

Also read | Sensex sharply tumbles 500 points on first monthly expiry after CAS, Nifty closes below 24,100. What lies ahead?

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