The holiday-shortened week began on a positive note as investor sentiment received a boost from the Samvat 2082 festivities. Consumer demand surged during
the festive season, supported by strong household spending and GST-driven affordability, contributing to record sales. This optimism initially helped stock indices climb, with PSU banking stocks leading the charge on expectations of consolidation and stronger-than-anticipated quarterly results. Volatility Hits Commodities And Crude While equities opened strongly, volatility in commodity markets tempered investor enthusiasm. According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Ltd, “the precious metals market faced extreme volatility, suffering its sharpest single day fall in over a decade, driven by profit booking and a strengthening US dollar.” Crude oil prices also spiked sharply following fresh sanctions imposed by the US and EU on Russian oil majors, stoking concerns over global supply constraints and potential inflationary pressures. Profit Booking Pulls Indices Lower By the end of the week, markets lost steam as profit booking and weak global cues weighed on sentiment. Stock markets broke a six-day winning streak, with the Nifty index closing at 25,795.15 after a temporary dip below the 25,800 level. On a weekly basis, the index corrected nearly 311 points from recent highs, signalling a phase of consolidation following strong upward momentum. Hardik Matalia, Derivative Analyst-Research at Choice Equity Broking Pvt Ltd, noted, “Currently, Nifty continues to trade above its 20-day, 50-day, and 200-day EMAs, highlighting a strong underlying bullish structure and sustained trend strength. On the weekly timeframe, the RSI stands at 61.60 and is trending sideways, indicating a neutral-to-positive bias with potential for renewed momentum once consolidation ends," according to an IANS report. Bank Nifty also ended the week largely unchanged at 57,699, despite hitting a lifetime high earlier. Analysts attribute the subsequent correction of nearly 870 points to profit booking at elevated levels. Investors are advised to closely monitor developments in India-US trade negotiations, as finalisation of a deal could provide fresh market direction.
