Ahead of Market: 10 things that will decide stock market action on Monday

The Indian market ended higher on Friday, with the Sensex and Nifty climbing decisively as a strong earnings surprise from Infosys reignited risk appetite and pulled heavyweight IT stocks sharply higher, among other factors. The rally pushed the Sensex and Nifty to fresh intraday highs, reversing recent caution and setting a bullish tone for the session.The BSE Sensex jumped as much as 752 points during the day to hit an intraday high of 84,134.97, while the NSE Nifty 50 surged 0.8% to touch 25,873.50. At the end of the session, the Sensex climbed 187 points, or 0.23%, to 83,570.35 at the close, while the Nifty advanced 29 points, or 0.11%, to end the session at 25,694.35.Here's how analysts read the market pulse:The equity markets witnessed positive momentum during the session, driven by better Q3 results from IT and mid-segment banking stocks, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, adding that the profit booking towards the close capped the rally, resulting only in marginal gains for the market. “The IT sector outperformed, supported by an upward revision in revenue growth projections from a leading industry bellwether, coupled with expectations of increased technology spending. Meanwhile, investor focus also shifted to banking counters, as early results reflected notable improvements in asset quality and margin profiles, further strengthening sentiment in the sector,” said Nair.US MarketsU.S. equities finished Friday little changed after a volatile session ahead of the long holiday weekend, while all three major benchmarks closed the week in negative territory as fourth-quarter earnings season got underway.The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 83.11 points, or 0.17%, to 49,359.33. The S&P 500 edged down 4.46 points, or 0.06%, to 6,940.01, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 14.63 points, or 0.06%, to 23,515.39. For the week, the S&P 500 declined 0.38%, the Nasdaq fell 0.66%, and the Dow shed 0.29%, reflecting investor caution as companies began reporting quarterly results.European MarketsEuropean stocks ended Friday on a subdued note, weighed down by sharp losses in luxury names and weakness in mining shares, capping a cautious week marked by the onset of a heavy earnings calendar and persistent geopolitical unease.The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index closed essentially unchanged at 614.38. Luxury stocks slid 3.2%, recording their steepest one-day decline since early October and acting as a notable drag on broader market performance.Tech ViewThe Nifty index closed the session forming a bearish gravestone doji candlestick on the daily chart, while the RSI continues to remain in a bearish crossover, indicating underlying weakness, said Vatsal Bhuva, Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, adding that the index is currently consolidating with a bearish undertone between the 25,550–25,600 zone, where the 100-day SMA is placed and is being repeatedly tested, and the 25,850–25,900 resistance area. "Traders may look to trade this defined range between 25,850 and 25,550. A sustainable bullish bias can emerge only after the index decisively reclaims its 50-day SMA. Immediate support lies at 25,550–25,600, while resistance is placed near 25,900," said Bhuva.In the short term, sentiment is likely to remain weak with potential for further downside, Bhuva said, adding that support is placed at 25,600, below which a deeper correction may unfold, and on the higher end, resistance is placed at 25,835.Most active stocks in terms of turnoverHDFC Bank (Rs 3,510 crore), Infosys (Rs 3,247 crore), RIL (Rs 2,514 crore), Vedanta (Rs 1,882 crore), Eternal (Rs 1,833 crore), Federal Bank (Rs 1,782 crore) and ICICI Bank (Rs 1,771 crore) were among the most active stocks on BSE in value terms. Higher activity in a counter in value terms can help identify the counters with the highest trading turnovers in the day.Most active stocks in volume termsVodafone Idea (Traded shares: 55.4 crore), IFCI (Traded shares: 25 crore), YES Bank (Traded shares: 17 crore), Suzlon Energy (Traded shares: 10.5 crore), Ola Electric Mobility (Traded shares: 6.72 crore), Federal Bank (Traded shares: 6.68 crore) and NHPC (Traded shares: 6.29 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks in volume terms on NSE.Stocks showing buying interestShares of Federal Bank, Angel One, IndiaMART Intermesh, Zen Technologies, IFCI, Oracle and Infosys were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.52 Week highOver 84 stocks hit their 52-week highs today, while 260 stocks slipped to their 52-week lows. Among the ones which hit their 52-week highs were SBI and Tata Steel.Stocks seeing selling pressureStocks which witnessed significant selling pressure were Eternal, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki, ITC, NTPC and Kotak Mahindra Bank.Sentiment meter bearishThe market sentiments were bearish. Out of the 4,394 stocks that traded on the BSE on Friday, 2,395 stocks witnessed declines, 1,849 saw advances, while 150 stocks remained unchanged.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times.)