Indian benchmark indices ended a volatile session marginally lower on Friday, as investors digested the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy decision and continued to sell off to foreign institutional investors, while closely monitoring global developments, according to an ET report.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.25% and maintained its neutral policy stance. The central bank also raised its inflation forecasts and lowered its GDP growth forecasts, keeping market sentiment cautious during the trading session.According to Ajit Mishra, Senior Vice President, Research at Religare Broking, the broader market trend remains weak despite support from select heavyweight stocks.“While the broader index trend remains weak, mixed performance among heavyweight stocks is limiting the pace of decline.
In this backdrop, we maintain a cautious stance and favor a sell-on-a-rise approach until the Nifty decisively reclaims the 23,700 level. “At the same time, traders should focus on equity-specific opportunities across sectors and maintain balanced positions with disciplined risk management overnight,” Mishra said.
Global signals remain crucial
Global markets will remain a major factor for Dalal Street after US stocks recorded their biggest decline in months on Friday.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 2.6%, marking its largest single-day decline since October, and ending a 10-week winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 4.2% as technology stocks came under heavy selling pressure.The selling came on the heels of a stronger-than-expected US jobs report, boosting expectations that the Federal Reserve may need to keep interest rates high for longer and could even consider tightening further.European markets also ended the week lower as investors remained concerned about developments in West Asia and their impact on energy prices and inflation.The European STOXX 600 index fell 0.3 percent on Friday and was down 0.5 percent over the week. Market sentiment remained cautious amid uncertainty surrounding US-Iran tensions and the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
Stylish look to unify
Technically, analysts expect the benchmark index to remain within a specific range in the near term.According to market experts, the Nifty index is likely to consolidate in the 23,000-23,550 region over the next week.A move above Tuesday’s high at 23,556 could open the door to an advance towards the 23,750-23,800 resistance area.
Stocks in focus
Among the most active stocks on the BSE in terms of value were BSE, ZEE Entertainment, Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, Adani Enterprises, HDFC Bank and Himadri Specialty.In terms of trading volumes, Vodafone Idea, Ola Electric, ZEE Entertainment, YES Bank, JP Power and Suzlon Energy remained the most active counters trading.Stocks that attracted strong buying interest included ZEE Entertainment, Adani Green Energy, Himadri Specialty, Jyoti CNC, Schneider Electric, Kirloskar Brothers and Saregama India.Among the stocks that touched 52-week highs are Himadri Specialty, ACME Solar, Adani Enterprises, Sai Life Sciences, Laurus Labs and Federal Reserve Bank.On the other hand, Wockhardt, Hindustan Zinc, NetWeb Technologies, HFCL, Nalco, Tejas Networks and BSE witnessed significant selling pressure.
Market breadth is mixed
Market breadth remained slightly negative although there were pockets of buying interest.Of the 4,399 shares traded on the Bahrain Stock Exchange on Friday, the prices of 1,993 shares increased, 2,212 shares decreased, and 194 shares remained unchanged.As Reserve Bank of India (RBI) policy signals, FII activity, global equity trends, crude oil prices and geopolitical developments continue to weigh on sentiment, investors are expected to remain focused on domestic and international catalysts in the coming week. (Disclaimer: Recommendations, opinions regarding stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times Of India)
