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

The Indian stock market rallied on Thursday, with Sensex and Nifty rising more than 1% after the Federal Reserve kept its interest rates unchanged, along with other factors that boosted investor sentiment, although traders would likely brace for expiry-day volatility.

Sensex jumped 905 points to close at 74,151 while Nifty 50 gained nearly 238 points to end the session at 22,937. Broader markets also gained, with Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 rising around 1%. The sharp gains added nearly Rs 5 lakh crore to the total market capitalisation of all companies listed on BSE, pulling it up to more than Rs 477 lakh crore.

Also read | Why did market rally today?


Here's how analysts read the market pulse

"Indian equities rallied as the US Fed’s rate pause, marginal easing in crude and renewed institutional buying improved risk appetite despite a challenging external backdrop. FMCG led gains on resilient consumer demand, while financials, IT, realty and power strengthened, with mid- and small-caps also participating, signalling healthier market breadth. Recent foreign buying alongside sustained domestic institutional support has also improved the liquidity backdrop. The broader thesis remains supported by selective earnings resilience and domestic demand stability, although elevated input costs could test margin durability. However, elevated Brent, rupee weakness, rising domestic bond yields and persisting geopolitical uncertainty remain key risks. Near-term momentum will hinge on domestic earnings breadth, continuity of foreign flows and moderation in energy prices while the global inflation trends and policy signals from other major central banks could keep yields and capital flows volatile,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments.

US stocks

The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell more than 1% on Thursday, as Alphabet's results rekindled worries about soaring AI costs, while investors assessed fresh inflation data following the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates unchanged.

Alphabet shares slid 13%, and were on track for their steepest one-day fall on record, after the company reported disappointing search advertising results and a surge in cash burn as AI-related spending accelerated.

The Google parent is on track to lose more than $500 billion in market value, accounting for most of the over $693 billion the Nasdaq-100 was set to erase if current losses hold.

European markets

European blue-chips are set to deliver their second-best quarterly earnings in four years, an LSEG I/B/E/S report showed on Thursday, buoyed by energy companies reporting stellar profit growth.
Companies on Europe's benchmark STOXX 600 index are expected to report quarterly earnings growth of 23.6% on average, according to the LSEG data based on results from 144 companies and market estimates for those that are yet to report.

Most active stocks in terms of turnover

RIL (Rs 2,450 crore), Birlasoft (Rs 2,160 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 2,148 crore), Kotak Mahindra Bank (Rs 2,111 crore), Infosys (Rs 1,597 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 1,595 crore), and Adani Ports SEZ (Rs 1,431 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.

Also read | Nifty’s early comeback signal: Why largecaps are holding up as broader market slides

Most active stocks in volume terms

Vodafone Idea (Traded shares: 23.98 crore), Reliance Power (Traded shares: 16.19 crore), Yes Bank (Traded shares: 13.28 crore), Suzlon Energy (Traded shares: 9.26 crore), Ola Electric Mobility (Traded shares: 7.24 crore), Birlasoft (Traded shares: 6.34 crore) and Pine Labs (Traded shares: 4.87 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on NSE.

Stocks showing buying interest

Birlasoft, Poonawalla Fincorp, Reliance Power, Zensar Tech, Ami Organics, Syrma SGS Tech and Commercial Engineering 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 Ami Organics, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Nykaa, Laurus Labs, IHCL, Sona BLW Precision Engineering and Piramal Pharma.

Stocks seeing selling pressure

Stocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were eClerx Services, Tata Teleservices, Hexaware Technologies, CarTrade Tech, Privi Speciality Chemical, Vedanta Iron and Dalmia Bharat.

52-week low

Among the ones which hit their 52-week lows on NSE included Dalmia Bharat, Tenneco Clean Air, IndiaMART, Atul, DOMS Industries, YES Bank and Sumitomo Chemical.

Sentiment meter favours bulls

Out of the 3,693 stocks that traded on the NSE on October 29, Thursday, 2,196 stocks witnessed advances, 1,387 stocks saw declines while 110 stocks remained unchanged.

Also read | Jefferies initiates coverage on NSE with ‘Buy’; here’s why it sees fresh growth potential

Disclaimer: This article has been written by Debaroti Adhikary, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Debaroti Adhikary and his/her ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclaimers here.