Ahead of Market: 10 things that will decide D-St action on Thursday

A depreciating rupee knocked the bullish sentiments down on Dalal Street on Wednesday, a day ahead of the expiry of June F&O contracts. In a choppy market, the Nifty closed the day lower by 51 points at 15,799 levels.

Here's how analysts read the market pulse:

Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, said the short-term trend of the Nifty continues to be choppy with negative bias. "The present range-bound movement could continue for the next 1-2 sessions and immediate supports to be watched around 15,600-15,650 levels. On the flip side, a decisive move above 15,850-15,900 levels is likely to open a sustainable upside for the market," he said.

Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said there is no clear direction in the market because of mixed global cues. “While the easing of Covid restrictions in China has helped to bring some positivity, the low consumer data from the US brought forth concerns over growth and inflation. Going ahead, we expect market volatility to continue within a broader trading range.”

That said, here’s a look at what some key indicators are suggesting for Thursday’s action:

US stocks waver
Stocks shifted between gains and losses on Wall Street Wednesday morning, keeping the market on track for its fourth monthly loss this year.

The S&P 500 was up 0.1% after the first hour of trading. The benchmark index has been volatile all week, and is down 20% for the year as investors worry about inflation and rising interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% and the Nasdaq edged up 0.2%.

Bed Bath & Beyond plunged 21% after reporting a far bigger loss than analysts expected and replacing its CEO. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.13%.

European stocks fall
European shares fell on Wednesday, as fears about a global recession overshadowed recent optimism about China reopening after months-long lockdowns, with investors looking ahead to a meeting of major central bank heads for clues on policy outlook.

The continent-wide STOXX 600 index dropped 0.9%, snapping a three-day rally following a dour Wall Street session overnight on weak U.S. consumer confidence data.

Tech View: Momentum stays positive
Nifty50 formed a small bullish candle on the daily chart. Analysts noted that the index has been staging a recovery in the last couple of sessions after seeing gap-down starts, which is positive. Besides, they noted that the selling pressure is getting absorbed near a key moving average. Analysts said the momentum stays positive.

Stocks showing bullish bias
Momentum indicator Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) showed a bullish trade setup on the counters of Alok Industries, Abbott India, Sterling Wilson Solar, ONGC, Coromandel International and WABCO India.

The MACD is known for signaling 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 Sona BLW, Cyient, Biocon, United Breweries, Bank of Maharashtra and Zee Entertainment. A bearish crossover on the MACD on these counters indicated that they have just begun their downward journey.

Most active stocks in value terms
ONGC (Rs 2,535 crore), RIL (Rs 2,268 crore), Axis Bank (Rs 857 crore), NTPC (Rs 755 crore), Infosys (Rs 743 crore), and TCS (Rs 705 crore) were among the most active stocks on NSE in value terms. Higher activity on a counter in value terms can help identify the counters with the highest trading turnovers in the day.

Most active stocks in volume terms
ONGC (Shares traded: 16.5 crore), NTPC (Shares traded: 5.3 crore), Power Grid (Shares traded: 3.1 crore), Coal India (Shares traded: 1.7 crore), ITC (Shares traded: 1.6 crore) and Axis Bank (Shares traded: 1.3 crore) were among the most traded stocks in the session on NSE.

Stocks showing buying interest
Shares of Blue Dart, Jamna Auto, Phoenix Mills and TVS Motor witnessed strong buying interest from market participants as they scaled their fresh 52-week highs, signalling bullish sentiment.

Stocks seeing selling pressure
Star Health, Muthoot Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Biocon, IDBI Bank, Wockhardt and Pfizer witnessed strong selling pressure and hit their 52-week lows, signalling bearish sentiment on the counters.

Sentiment meter favours bears
Overall, market breadth favoured losers as 1,472 stocks ended in the green, while 1,835 names settled with cuts.

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