The benchmark stock indices may witness a non-directional trade in the near term on mixed global and domestic cues, according to market analysts.
The NSE Nifty 50 is consistently taking the support near 22,570 while witnessing profit booking near the 22,700–22,750 areas, according to Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities. "We are of the view that the current market texture is non-directional; perhaps, traders are waiting for either-side breakout."
Global cues presented a mixed picture, contributing to subdued sentiment, albeit with an overall positive undertone, according to Ajit Mishra, technical analyst at Religare Broking Ltd. "Our recommendation remains inclined towards a strategy of buying during dips, emphasising prudent stock selection and overnight risk management."
The Nifty has formed a bullish candle but traded in a narrow range in the previous session. On the higher side, 22,780–22,800 will act as a strong hurdle for the index in the short term, according to Neeraj Sharma, assistant vice president of technical and derivatives Research at Asit C Mehta Investment Interrmediates Ltd. "As long as the index remains below 22,800, a short-term retracement towards 22,500–22,300 could be possible."
The Bank Nifty indicated weakness as the index has formed a shooting-star candlestick pattern near the upper trend line resistance on Tuesday and sustained below low of a shooting star candle on Thursday, Sharma said.
The GIFT Nifty was trading 4.5 points or 0.02% higher at 22,895.50 as of 6:37 a.m. on Friday.
F&O Action
The Nifty May futures were up 0.27% to 22,773.95 at a premium of 125.75 points, while its open interest rose 2.52%. The Nifty Bank May futures declined 0.12% to 49,388.35 at a premium of 157.03 points, and the open interest was down 4.06%.
Open interest distribution for the Nifty May series indicates that 22,500–22,700 levels are seeing the most put strikes, and call strikes of 22,500 have the maximum open interest.
During the previous session, most open interest was added at the 22,700 and 22,800 put strikes, and call strikes of 22,700 saw the maximum open interest change.
For the Bank Nifty options May expiry series, the maximum call open interest is at 49,500 and the maximum put open interest is at 49,000.
Open Interest Distribution
Open Interest Change
FII/DII Activity
Overseas investors turned net sellers on Thursday after two sessions of buying.
Foreign portfolio investors sold stocks worth Rs 964.47 crore and domestic institutional investors stayed net buyers for the eighth session and mopped up equities worth Rs 1,352.4 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.
Markets On Thursday
India's benchmark equity indices ended Thursday on a positive note, with gains led by HDFC Bank Ltd. and Power Grid Corp., but the upside was limited due to losses in the shares of ICICI Bank Ltd. and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.
The NSE Nifty 50 ended 52.30 points or 0.23% up at 22,657.15, and the S&P BSE Sensex gained 128.33 points or 0.17% to close at 74,611.11.
Most sectoral indices on the NSE ended higher, with the Nifty Metal, Auto and Energy leading.
On the BSE, 15 of the 20 sectors advanced and five declined. Utilities was the top gainer and Bankex declined the most.
The Market breadth was evenly split between buyers and sellers as 1,913 stocks rose, 1,924 declined and 120 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Major Stocks In News
Bajaj Finance: The Reserve Bank of India lifted restrictions on the company's eCOM and online digital Insta EMI Card products with immediate effect.
Adani Energy: The company is in a pact with Windson Project to acquire Pointleap Projects for Rs 13.15 crore.
Max Estates: The company arm signed an agreement for a residential development project in Gurugram with a GDV potential of over Rs 9,000 crore.
Coal India - (Consolidated, YoY)
Revenue down 1.95% at Rs 37,410 crore vs Rs 38,152 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs 36,909 crore.
Ebitda up 21.47% at Rs 11,338 crore vs Rs 9,333 crore (Bloomberg estimate of Rs 10,132 crore).
Margin up 584 bps at 30.3% vs 24.46% (Bloomberg estimate of 27.5%).
Net profit up 25.78% at Rs 8,640 crore vs Rs 6,869 crore (Bloomberg estimate Rs7,617 crore).
Board recommends final dividend of Rs 5 per share.
Global Cues
Most Asia-Pacific stocks were trading higher, tracking gains from their Wall Street peers ahead of its jobs data that is due later Friday.
The Nikkei 225 was trading 37.98 points or 0.1% down at 38,236.07, and the Kospi was 13.37 points or 0.50% higher at 2,697.02 as of 06:38 a.m. The S&P ASX 200 was 33.80 points or 0.45% higher at 7,620.80.
US employment data will be crucial as it will provide insight into the job market, which has been resilient, defying decade-high interest rates.
The world's biggest technology companies drove a rebound in US stocks ahead of Apple Inc.'s earnings, with Wall Street also gearing up for Friday's jobs report, Bloomberg said.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.91% and 1.51% respectively as of Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.85%.
Brent crude was trading 0.29% higher at $83.96 a barrel. Gold fell 0.04% to $2,304.73 an ounce.
Rupee
The Indian rupee closed weaker against the dollar on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate steady for the sixth straight time.
The local currency closed three paise weaker against the greenback at Rs 83.47.
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