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

Mirroring positive global market trends, benchmark index Sensex ended 224 points higher at 59,932 points, while Nifty ended almost flat with a negative bias at 17,610. Analysts also attribute today’s positive close to foreign capital inflows. Nifty sectoral indices presented a mixed show. The Nifty Metal index fell the most by over 4%.

Here's how analysts read the market pulse:

“Nifty witnessed swings in both the directions today & ultimately posted a minor negative close. Despite multiple attempts, the index couldn’t sustain in the positive territory. The hourly chart shows that the 20 HMA acted as a cap on the higher side, whereas the hourly lower Bollinger Band offered support to the index. Thus 17,650 – 17,450 is the tight range within the overall short term range of 17,350-18,000. The bulls can get some relief if the index crosses 17,650-17,700 area on the higher side,” said Gaurav Ratnaparkhi, Head of Technical Research, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

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

US market
The Nasdaq rose more than 2% on Thursday to hit a near five-month intra-day high as Meta Platforms surged on rigorous cost controls, while a dovish message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell boosted bets of a softer landing for the US economy.

Meta Platforms Inc soared 21.1% to a near eight-month high after the Facebook-parent announced a new $40 billion share buyback and said it would cut costs in 2023 by $5 billion to between $89 billion and $95 billion.

At 10:21 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 185.50 points, or 0.54%, at 33,907.46, the S&P 500 was up 34.99 points, or 0.85%, at 4,154.20, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 253.10 points, or 2.14%, at 12,069.42.

The Dow was dragged down by bleak earnings, with Honeywell International Inc down 2.4% after posting a 28.6% fall in quarterly profit.

European shares
European shares climbed on Thursday, led by technology and real-estate stocks, with focus squarely on the European Central Bank's interest rate decision a day after the Federal Reserve acknowledged its progress on curbing stubborn price pressures.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.5% at 0806 GMT, with rate-sensitive technology and real estate stocks jumping 2.7% and 1.8%, respectively. The European Central Bank raised interest rates by 0.5% on Thursday and explicitly signalled at least one more hike of the same magnitude next month, reaffirming it would stay the course in the fight against high inflation.

Tech View: Small positive candle
A small positive candle was formed on the daily chart with minor upper and lower shadows. Technically, this pattern indicates that the market is in a near-term bottom reversal mode and Nifty is expected to show a pull back rally in the coming sessions.

Stocks showing bullish bias
Momentum indicator Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) showed bullish trade on the counters of Brightcom Group, Ujjivan SFB, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IEX and City Union Bank among others.

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 signaling weakness ahead
The MACD showed bearish signs on the counters of VIP Industries, GPT Infraprojects, Gandhi Special Tubes and Akzo Nobel among others. Bearish crossover on the MACD on these counters indicated that they have just begun their downward journey.

Most active stocks in value terms
Adani Enterprises (Rs 6300 crore), Adani Ports (Rs 5371 crore), Ambuja Cements (Rs 2746 crore), ITC (Rs 2101 crore) and SBI (Rs 2050 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 highest trading turnovers in the day.

Most active stocks in volume terms
Yes Bank (Shares traded: 12.39 crore), PNB (Shares traded: 12.12 crore), Adani Ports (Shares traded: 11.55 crore) and Vodafone Idea (Shares traded: 10.9 crore) were among the most traded stocks in the session on NSE.

Stocks showing buying interest
Shares of KPIT Technologies, Rajesh Exports, Blue Star, ITC and Britannia among others witnessed strong buying interest from market participants as they scaled their fresh 52-week highs, signaling bullish sentiment.

Stocks seeing selling pressure
Shares of Adani Enterprises, Adani Transmission, Adani Green Energy, TCI Express and Adani Ports SEZ among others hit their 52-week lows, signaling bearish sentiment on the counters.

Sentiment meter favours bears
Overall, market breadth favoured bears as 1,926 stocks ended in the red while 1,578 names settled with gains.

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