Ahead of Market: 12 things that will decide stock action today

NEW DELHI: After both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended at record closing highs, Asian stocks were also trading higher. Market participants are closely watching the nonfarm payroll report due on Friday, which could sway the US Federal Reserve's policy stance.

At 7:20 hours (IST), Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 35 points higher signalling a likely gap-up start for Dalal Street.

Let's have a look at the key factors influencing market mood this morning:

S&P, Nasdaq rise to record closes
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both registered record closing highs on Tuesday, lifted by Apple Inc and other technology stocks after an upbeat consumer confidence report. With the S&P 500 climbing nearly 14% in the first half of the year, investor focus is expected to shift to the second-quarter earnings season, beginning in July, which could decide the path for the next leg of the equity markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 9.02 points, or 0.03%, to 34,292.29. The S&P 500 gained 1.19 points, or 0.03%, to 4,291.8 and the Nasdaq Composite added 27.83 points, or 0.19%, to 14,528.34.

Asian markets edge higher
Asian stocks rose Wednesday after U.S. shares closed at a record on economic optimism and signs that vaccines can counter a highly infectious coronavirus strain. The dollar held an advance. Australian equities outperformed, shrugging off lockdowns imposed to fight the delta variant of the virus, while China and Hong Kong fluctuated.

Tech View: If Nifty50 slips below 15,700, it may give the bears an upper hand
Analysts said holding above the 15,700 level is a must for the index to avoid a correction. The key resistance at 15,900 level will continue to pose as near-term hurdle, they said.

Check out the candlestick formations in the latest trading sessions


F&O: Nifty's immediate range seen between 15,600 and 16,000 levels
India VIX fell 2.97 per cent from 13.40 to 13 level. The fear gauge failed to move above 16-16.50 zone in the last three weeks and hovered near the lowest level of last 17 months. Lower volatility indicates an overall bullish market bias, but a small bounce in VIX can give some volatile cues to the market.

Stocks showing bullish bias
Momentum indicator Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) on Tuesday showed bullish trade setup on the counters of Bank of Baroda, Firstsource Solution, Tata Motors, Sadbhav Engineering, Marico, Indraprastha Gas, Archies, Granules India, Fortis Healthcare, Dhani Services, Birla Tyres, United Breweries, Escorts, Damodar Industries, InfoBeans Tech, Prestige Estates, Tata Elxsi, Sundaram Finance Holdings, KCP Sugar, Ajanta Pharma, MindTree, Golden Tobacco, Om Infra, The Investment Trust, Force Motors, Apollo Pipes, Aaron Industries, Greenlam Industries and Kennametal India.

The MACD is known for signalling trend reversals in traded securities or indices. When the MACD crosses above the signal line, it gives a bullish signal, indicating that the price of the security may see an upward movement and vice versa.

Stocks signalling weakness ahead
The MACD showed bearish signs on the counters of Reliance Communication, Suzlon Energy, HDFC Life Insurance, Indian Bank, Infibeam Avenues, SBI Life Insurance, Future Retail, Kiri Industries, Gammon Infrastructure, NOCIL, Gujarat Apollo Industries, Compuage Infocom, Radico Khaitan, Alembic Pharmaceuticals, NCL Industries, Brigade Enterprises, L&T Infotech, Super Spinning, S Chand & Company, Polycab India, BF Investment, Tera Software, Dhunseri Ventures, Clariant Chemicals, Technocraft Industries, Kuantum Papers, Steel City Securities, Crisil, JBM Auto, Shree Cement, V Mart Retail and Revathi Equipment. A bearish crossover on the MACD on these counters indicated that they have just begun their downward journey.

Tuesday's most active stocks in value terms
RIL (Rs 2,620.54 crore), HDFC Life (Rs 2,125.43 crore), Kotak Bank (Rs 1,778.82 crore), SBI (Rs 944.43 crore), Infosys (Rs 925.27 crore), Tata Steel (Rs 918.30 crore), Adani Enterprises (Rs 849.73 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 821.90 crore), Firstsource (Rs 816.59 crore) and Apollo Hospital (Rs 809.24 crore) were among the most active stocks on Dalal Street in value terms. Higher activity on a counter in value terms can help identify the counters with highest trading turnovers in the day.

Tuesday's most active stocks in volume terms
Reliance Communication (Shares traded: 40.49 crore), Vodafone Idea (Shares traded: 18.88 crore), PNB (Shares traded: 13.79 crore), NALCO (Shares traded: 10.05 crore), Indian Railway Finance Corporation (Shares traded: 10.00 crore), YES Bank (Shares traded: 7.70 crore), Bank of Baroda (Shares traded: 6.37 crore), BHEL (Shares traded: 6.07 crore), JP Power (Shares traded: 5.84 crore) and GMR Infra (Shares traded: 5.20 crore) were among the most traded stocks in the session.

Stocks showing buying interest
Sequent Scientific, Firstsource, Sonata Software, Marico and Rattan India Infra witnessed strong buying interest from market participants as they scaled their fresh 52-week highs, signalling bullish sentiment.

Stocks seeing selling pressure
Shyam Metalics and Energy witnessed strong selling pressure and hit a 52-week low, signalling bearish sentiment on the counters.

Sentiment meter favours bears
Overall, the market breadth remained in favour of the bears. As many as 165 stocks on the BSE500 index settled the day in the green, while 328 settled the day in the red.

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