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

NEW DELHI: Asian stock markets were trading higher on Thursday morning after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank was still a ways away from considering raising interest rates. The S&P 500 had ended little changed last night. At 7 hours (IST), Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 32 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 500 ends flat
The S&P 500 ended little changed on Wednesday but off its session lows. Keeping the market in check, shares of tech giant Apple Inc fell 1.2% after it forecast slowing revenue growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.36%, the S&P 500 was flat, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite rebounded 0.7% after hitting its lowest in more than two months on Tuesday.

Asian stock markets trading higher
Asian stocks rose early Thursday after the Federal Reserve inched closer to tapering substantial stimulus but said more economic progress is needed and as traders weigh efforts by China to restore market calm there. Japanese, Australian and South Korean shares pushed higher. Futures rose in Hong Kong, where traders are waiting to see if equities will rebound from steep losses sparked by China’s crackdown on private enterprises.

Tech View: Nifty50 forms 'Hammer' candle
Nifty50 on Wednesday staged a strong comeback after briefly breaching its strong support at 15,600 level. In the process, the index formed what looked like a trend reversal 'Hammer' candle on the daily chart. Analysts said one must not jump the gun, as other technical indicators are still not in favour of the bulls. They believe the broader consolidation range at 15,600-15,900 stays intact.

F&O: Spike in VIX a worry now
India VIX moved up 3.50 per cent from 13.23 to 13.69 level. Volatility has seen a sharp spike towards the 16-level during the day, as the index broke all immediate support and fear was seen among traders. Now VIX has to cool down below the 12 zone to again get a bullish stance for the market. Options data suggests a broader trading range between 15,600 and 15,850 levels.

Stocks showing bullish bias
Momentum indicator Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) showed bullish trade setup on the counters of Trident, Century Textiles, Vedanta, Kesoram Industries, Dollar Industries, Raymond, Bajaj Finance, Malu Paper Mills, Torrent Pharma, Olectra Greentech, Allied Digital Services, Ruby Mills, Tube Investments, Dr. Lal Pathlabs, Eros International, Swan Energy, Timken India, Salona Cotspin, Subros, Asian Hotels (North), Shiva Mills and Arman Financial Services.

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 Indiabulls Housing Finance, Granules India, REC, Power Finance, Jain Irrigation, Nippon Life AMC, Navkar Corporation, UFO Moviez India, Motilal Oswal Finance, Sterlite Technologies, Kitex Garments, Dalmia Bharat, Godrej Properties, Emami Realty, Star Cement, MindTree, Emkay Global Financing, Sobha, Oberoi Realty, BPL, S Chand & Company, Max India, SMS Pharmaceuticals, Crisil, TeamLease Service, Goodyear India, Godfrey Phillips, Page Industries, Williamson Magor, VST Tillers, Dhunseri Investments, Sandesh, Wendt India, Honeywell Automation and Vardhman Holdings. A bearish crossover on the MACD on these counters indicated that they have just begun their downward journey.

Most active stocks in value terms
Zomato (Rs 2,043.60 crore), Bharti Airtel (Rs 1,787.61 crore), Tata Steel (Rs 1,717.08 crore), Dr. Reddy's Labs (Rs 1,536.63 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 1,464.08 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 1,242.45 crore), RIL (Rs 1,210.62 crore), Tata Motors (Rs 1,033.34 crore), SAIL (Rs 993.76 crore) and HDFC (Rs 959.94 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 the highest trading turnovers in the day.

Most active stocks in volume terms
Vodafone Idea (Shares traded: 26.86 crore), Zomato (Shares traded: 15.98 crore), YES Bank (Shares traded: 12.91 crore), Trident (Shares traded: 9.07 crore), Vikas Multicorp (Shares traded: 7.91 crore), SAIL (Shares traded: 7.56 crore), JP Power (Shares traded: 7.34 crore), Suzlon Energy (Shares traded: 6.75 crore), PNB (Shares traded: 5.72 crore) and NALCO (Shares traded: 5.36 crore) were among the most traded stocks in the session.

Stocks showing buying interest
ACC, Ajanta Pharma, Century Textiles, Fortis Healthcare, Inox Wind, JSW Energy, Tata Communication, Welspun India, Godawari Power and Oracle witnessed strong buying interest from market participants as they scaled their fresh 52-week highs, signalling bullish sentiment.

Stocks seeing selling pressure
Alembic Pharma, Madhav Copper Synergy Green Industries and Suryoday Small Finance Bank witnessed strong selling pressure and hit their 52-week lows, signalling bearish sentiment on these counters.

Sentiment meter favours bears
Overall, the market breadth remained in favour of the bears. As many as 171 stocks on the BSE500 index settled the day in the green, while 321 settled the day in the red.

Podcast: Will the market continue to trade in a range?

After nearing the 15,900 level last week, Nifty gave up all its gains to slip below the 15,750 level. Will the market continue to trade in a range for some time? What are the technical charts suggesting?