Ahead of the market: 10 things that will determine stock action on Friday

Indian equity indices closed marginally higher on Thursday, with losses in IT shares offsetting gains in financial stocks.

The Nifty 50 closed up 0.07% at 24,998, while the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.18% to settle at 81,611. Both indices were up around 0.6% at the start of the session.

Meanwhile, there could be some negative impact on Friday’s trade as US inflation data for September came in higher than expected, potentially reducing the likelihood of more interest-rate cuts this year. A US Labor Department report showed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.4% year-on-year, compared to estimates of 2.3%. On a monthly basis, CPI rose 0.2%, against expectations for a 0.1% increase.

Here’s how analysts read the pulse of the market:

“The index remained largely sideways throughout the day as the 25,000 level was largely held. On the daily chart, the index has failed to recapture the 50EMA for the past two days, indicating prevailing weakness. At the lower end, support has been placed at 24,950 A drop below -24,900 could lead to a correction towards 24,750-24,700, on the other hand, resistance is seen at 25,150, and a move above this level could push the index towards 25,350-25,400 in the short term,” said de Roo. , LKP Securities.

Hrishikesh Yedve of Asit C Mehta Investment Intermediates said, “Technically, on the daily chart, the index forms a small red candle, indicating selling pressure at higher levels. However, the index is still above the low of the insider bar candle. Thus , levels of 25,150-25,350 may be possible as long as the index remains above the lows of 24,690, however, a close below 24,690 may lead to fresh breakdowns.”

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

US Market:
US stocks pulled back from their record highs on Thursday, with Treasury yields fluctuating after two reports showed inflation did not improve as expected last month and more workers filed for unemployment benefits last week.

As of 10:30 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 was down 0.2%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 97 points (also 0.2%) from an all-time high set a day earlier, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.2%. Stocks soared to record highs largely on optimism of easing interest rates, as the Federal Reserve began cutting rates from their two-decade peak, focusing on sustaining economic growth rather than simply fighting high inflation.

European Stocks:
European stocks were lower on Thursday as losses in the defense and industrials sectors led to losses in the defense and industrial sectors following data showing a slight pick-up in US inflation. Investors are also anticipating the unveiling of France’s 2025 budget.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.2%, with defense, industrials and technology stocks each down more than 1%.

Yields on German 10-year bonds, normally sensitive to US data, pared their losses but remained at a one-month high, putting additional pressure on equities.

Tech View:
The Nifty has formed an inside day pattern on its daily chart, which is formed when the price trades within the previous day’s high and low range. Hence forward direction on Nifty needs to wait and watch until today’s daily candle high (25,134) or low (24,979) is taken out.

At present, the bears have complete control over the markets and are using every pullback rally to build a short position. Support for Nifty is now seen at 24,950-25,000 and 24,750. On the upside, the immediate resistance is at 25,100 levels and the next resistance zone is at 25,250-275 levels, Tejas Shah of JM Financial & BlinkX.

In open interest (OI) data, the highest OI was seen at 25,000 and 25,050 strike prices on the call side, while on the put side, the highest OI was at 25,000 strike price followed by 24,950.

Stocks Showing Bullish Bias:
Momentum indicator Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) showed bullish trade on counters of Dixon Technologies, Trent, Page Industries, Info Edge, Akzo Nobel, Diviz Laboratories, Strides Pharma Sciences, Paytm and Anand Rathi Wealth.

MACD is known for indicating the opposite trend in traded securities or indices. When 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 further weakness:
MACD showed bearish signals on counters of JSW Steel, Hindalco Industries, Surya Roshni and Grasim Industries. A bearish crossover on MACD on these counters indicates that they have started their downward journey.

Most active stocks by value:
Mazagon Dock Ship (Rs 3,271 crore), RIL (Rs 3,073 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 1,794 crore), BSE (Rs 1,484 crore), Tata Chemicals (Rs 1,441 crore), Tata Motors (Rs 1,235 crore), and ICICI Bank (Rs 1,134 crore) are among the most active stocks on the NSE in terms of value. High activity on a counter in terms of value can help identify counters with the highest trading turnover in a day.

Most active stocks in terms of volume:
JP Power (shares traded: 28.3 crore), Suzlon Energy (shares traded: 7.1 crore), Yes Bank (shares traded: 5.4 crore), Tata Steel (shares traded: 4.6 crore), Zomato (shares traded: 3.8 crore), Easy Trip Planners (shares traded: 3.5 crore), and Tata Teleservices (shares traded: 3.3 crore) were the other most traded stocks in the session on NSE.

Stocks showing interest in buying:
Shares of ABB Power, Gujarat Fluorochemicals, Apar Industries, CG Power & Industrial Solutions, Anant Raj, MCX India and Dixon Technologies saw strong buying interest from market participants as they scaled their fresh 52-week highs, indicating bullish sentiment. gives

Selling Pressure in Stocks:
Shares of CreditAccess Grameen hit their 52-week low, signaling bearish sentiment on the counter.

Sentiment Meter Bulls:
Overall, market breadth favored the bulls as 2,199 stocks ended in the green, while 1,730 names settled in the red.

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