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

Indian equities ended with gains on Friday following strong buying action in consumer and metal stocks, although IT stocks were under pressure due to lower-than-estimated Q4FY26 earnings. While the Nifty ended up 156.80 points or 0.65% at 24,353.55, the BSE Sensex gained 292.80 points or 0.38% to settle at 78,111.24.

Meanwhile, the volatility gauge, India VIX, ended at 17.21, down 4.86% from the previous close.

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

Nilesh Jain, Vice-President and Head of Technical and Derivatives Research at Centrum Finverse said that there is immediate resistance at the 50-DMA placed around 24,410 and a critical breakout above this level could pave the way for a reversal towards 24,700. The overall structure remains positive, favoring a buy-on-dips approach, with the support base now hovering around 24,000, he added.

“Momentum indicators and oscillators continue to reflect strength, as the RSI remains above the 55 level. Meanwhile, the volatility index continues to soften, nearing the 17 mark. A further drop in volatility will provide additional support to the ongoing bullish sentiment,” Jain said.

US markets

Frontline indices on Wall Street ended with strong gains on Friday after US President Donald Trump said the United States had banned Israel from further bombing Lebanon. On Thursday, he suggested that he may visit Pakistan if a deal is struck between the two countries.

While the Dow rose 30,868.71 points, or 1.79%, to close at 49,447.43, the S&P 500 added 1.20% (84.78 points) to 7,126.06. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 365.78 points, or 1.52%, to close at 24,468.48.

European markets

Most major European indices closed in the green on Friday. UK’s FTSE 100, Stoxx 600, Spain’s IBEX 35 and Germany’s DAX closed higher by between 0.73% and 2.18%.

Tech View

Ajit Mishra, senior vice-president, research, Religare Broking, said the index has extended its recovery and is now touching key moving averages (100 and 200 DEMA) in the 24,600-24,800 zone. “Sustained strength above this band could open up a move towards 25,200. In case of profit booking or consolidation, 23,700-24,000 zone is likely to provide strong support,” Mishra said.

Most active stocks in terms of turnover

Balakrishna Industries (Rs 219 crore), Wari Renewable Technologies (Rs 214 crore), GMDC (Rs 193 crore), Reliance Industries (RIL, Rs 185 crore), Shipping Corporation of India (Rs 169 crore), Galant Ispat (Rs 160 crore and HD 160 crore) were the most active bank stocks. on BSE in terms of value. High activity across the counter in terms of value can help identify stocks with the highest trading turnover during the day.

Most active stocks in terms of volume

SpiceJet (Shares traded: 5.14 crore), Suzlon Energy (Shares traded: 2.25 crore), Vodafone Idea (Shares traded: 1.913 crore), JP Power (Shares traded: 1.56 crore), Ola Electric (Shares traded: 1.29 crore), Yes Bank (Shares traded: 1.3 crore and Power shares: 1.3 crore) 69.82 lakh) was one of the most actively traded stocks on the BSE in terms of volume.

Stocks show interest in buying

Bajaj Consumer Care, Kolte-Patil Developers, Wari Renewable, Gujarat Gas, Bharat Wire Ropes, Tokyo Plast International and Oil Country Tubular were among the stocks that saw strong buying interest from market participants.

52-week high

Today, 175 stocks touched their 52-week highs, while 20 stocks slipped to their 52-week lows. Among those hitting their 52-week highs were ABB India, Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Power, Bajaj Consumer Care, Bellarys Industries, Inox India and Jindal Steel.

Selling pressure is seen in stocks

Large-cap names include Wipro, HDFC Life Insurance Company and Sun Pharmaceuticals. Other stocks that saw significant selling pressure included Ind-Swift Laboratories, PVP Ventures, Madhya Bharat Agro Products, Gallant Ispat, Gaudium IVF, Women’s Health and Digjam.

The sentiment meter favors the bulls

Heavyweights like HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries (RIL) and Hindustan Unilever (HUL) helped the markets the most, as the breadth remained positive. Out of 4,493 stocks traded on BSE on Friday, April 17, 2,999 stocks advanced, 1,327 stocks declined, while 167 stocks remained unchanged.

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