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

The weekly F&O expiry day turned out to be a rollercoaster ride for traders as sharp moves were seen on both sides of the trade. Sensex ended over 400 points higher, and Nifty settled past the 15,550 mark, with auto stocks leading the rally.

Here's how analysts read the market pulse:
Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said while the overall market set-up continues to remain ‘sell on the rise’, intermittent bouts of relief rally can’t be ruled out. “Hence we suggest traders to remain cautious of sharp volatility and carry light positions going forward," he said.

Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, said Nifty is placed within a broader range of 15,700-15,350 levels. "Having bounced up from the higher low on Thursday, there is a possibility of further up move towards the crucial overhead resistance of 15,700-15,800 levels in the next 1-2 sessions, before showing another round of minor weakness from the highs," he said.

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

Wall Street opens higher
Wall Street's main indexes rose on Thursday as easing government bond yields lifted some high-growth stocks, while investors awaited business activity data and Federal Reserve Chair's testimony to Congress.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 87.20 points, or 0.29%, at the open to 30,570.33.

European stocks fall
European shares fell on Thursday, dragged down by energy and mining stocks due to sliding commodity prices on worries about slowing economic growth, with several broker calls also spurring big moves in stocks.

The continent-wide STOXX 600 index dropped 1.1% by 0724 GMT, with oil & gas stocks slipping 1.8% as crude prices fell almost 2%.

Tech View: Spinning Top candle
Nifty50 on Thursday formed an indecisive Spinning Top candle on the daily chart. Analysts said the index entered a consolidation phase which may last a few days until the broader 15,350-15,700 range is taken out decisively.

Stocks showing bullish bias
Momentum indicator Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) showed a bullish trade setup on the counters of Chemplast Sanmar, KEC, Maruti Suzuki, Triveni Turbine, Nippon Life AMC and Aptus Life Housing.

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 FDC Ltd, TCI Express and Thyrocare. A bearish crossover on the MACD on these counters indicated that they have just begun their downward journey.

Most active stocks in value terms
Reliance Industries (Rs 2,230 crore), Maruti Suzuki (Rs 1,363 crore), TCS (Rs 1,210 crore), Tata Motors (Rs 1,070 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 1,046 crore), and HDFC (Rs 1,027 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: 2.7 crore), Tata Motors (Shares traded: 2.7 crore), Hindalco (Shares traded: 1.9 crore), ICICI Bank (Shares traded: 1.5 crore), SBI (Shares traded: 1.2 crore) and NTPC (Shares traded: 1.1 crore) were among the most traded stocks in the session on NSE.

Stocks showing buying interest
Shares of Elecon Engineering Company Limited, Insecticides (India) Limited, Jupiter Wagons and Kohinoor Foods witnessed strong buying interest from market participants as they scaled their fresh 52-week highs, signalling bullish sentiment.

Stocks seeing selling pressure
UPL, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank witnessed strong selling pressure and hit their 52-week lows, signalling bearish sentiment on the counters.

Sentiment meter favours bulls
Overall, market breadth favoured winners as 2,038 stocks ended in the green, while 1,277 names settled with cuts.

Here's how analysts read the market pulse:

Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said while the overall market set-up continues to remain ‘sell on the rise’, intermittent bouts of relief rally can’t be ruled out. “Hence we suggest traders to remain cautious of sharp volatility and carry light positions going forward," he said.

Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, said Nifty is placed within a broader range of 15,700-15,350 levels. "Having bounced up from the higher low on Thursday, there is a possibility of further up move towards the crucial overhead resistance of 15,700-15,800 levels in the next 1-2 sessions, before showing another round of minor weakness from the highs," he said.

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

Wall Street opens higher
Wall Street's main indexes rose on Thursday as easing government bond yields lifted some high-growth stocks, while investors awaited business activity data and Federal Reserve Chair's testimony to Congress.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 87.20 points, or 0.29%, at the open to 30,570.33.

European stocks fall
European shares fell on Thursday, dragged down by energy and mining stocks due to sliding commodity prices on worries about slowing economic growth, with several broker calls also spurring big moves in stocks.

The continent-wide STOXX 600 index dropped 1.1% by 0724 GMT, with oil & gas stocks slipping 1.8% as crude prices fell almost 2%.

Tech View: Spinning Top candle
Nifty50 on Thursday formed an indecisive Spinning Top candle on the daily chart. Analysts said the index entered a consolidation phase which may last a few days until the broader 15,350-15,700 range is taken out decisively.

Stocks showing bullish bias
Momentum indicator Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) showed a bullish trade setup on the counters of Chemplast Sanmar, KEC, Maruti Suzuki, Triveni Turbine, Nippon Life AMC and Aptus Life Housing.

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 FDC Ltd, TCI Express and Thyrocare. A bearish crossover on the MACD on these counters indicated that they have just begun their downward journey.

Most active stocks in value terms
Reliance Industries (Rs 2,230 crore), Maruti Suzuki (Rs 1,363 crore), TCS (Rs 1,210 crore), Tata Motors (Rs 1,070 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 1,046 crore), and HDFC (Rs 1,027 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: 2.7 crore), Tata Motors (Shares traded: 2.7 crore), Hindalco (Shares traded: 1.9 crore), ICICI Bank (Shares traded: 1.5 crore), SBI (Shares traded: 1.2 crore) and NTPC (Shares traded: 1.1 crore) were among the most traded stocks in the session on NSE.

Stocks showing buying interest
Shares of Elecon Engineering Company Limited, Insecticides (India) Limited, Jupiter Wagons and Kohinoor Foods witnessed strong buying interest from market participants as they scaled their fresh 52-week highs, signalling bullish sentiment.

Stocks seeing selling pressure
UPL, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank witnessed strong selling pressure and hit their 52-week lows, signalling bearish sentiment on the counters.

Sentiment meter favours bulls
Overall, market breadth favoured winners as 2,038 stocks ended in the green, while 1,277 names settled with cuts.