This is how analysts read the market pulse:
Domestic markets ended higher after a strong recovery supported by an upbeat economic survey that confirmed robust FY27 growth prospects and a well-anchored inflation environment amid persistent global uncertainties, said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments.”Global cues were largely constructive, although higher bullion and crude oil prices on the back of escalating US-Iran tensions weighed on overall risk sentiment. Sectorally, FMCG, IT and auto stocks underperformed, while metals outperformed on expectations of stronger realizations driven by firm commodity prices,” Nair said.
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American markets
The S&P 500 gave up opening gains and the Nasdaq fell 1% on Thursday as investors assessed megacap tech results that pointed to another surge in AI spending, while the Federal Reserve held rates steady as widely expected.
Microsoft fell 11.3%, putting pressure on the Nasdaq, as cloud revenues failed to impress, fueling fears that the heavy spending behind the OpenAI alliance isn’t translating into revenue generation quickly enough.
The decline in software stocks also weighed on the index following SAP’s cautious cloud outlook, while ServiceNow’s nearly 10% post-earnings decline reinforced investor concerns that traditional software companies risk losing ground to increasing competition from AI players.
Salesforce fell 5.6%, while Adobe and cloud security company Datadog lost 3.1% each.
Meta rose almost 8% as the social media giant combined an optimistic revenue forecast with a 73% increase in this year’s capital expenditure budget. Tesla fell 1% despite plans to more than double capital spending to a record level.
The latest results from three of the so-called ‘Magnificent Seven’ companies suggest that investors are willing to overlook huge AI expenditures as long as they expect them to deliver tangible returns.
European markets
The Euro STOXX 600 gained 0.5% on higher oil and precious metals prices, with indexes in Britain, Spain and France all posting gains. However, German shares fell 0.9%. The eurozone’s largest economy cut its growth expectations for 2026 and 2027 on Wednesday.
Gold added 2.2% to an earlier record of $5,594.82 an ounce. This month alone, gains are now around 28%. Silver also benefited, topping $120.
That sent Europe’s basic resources index up 3% to its highest level since May 2008. Oil prices hit a four-month high as Trump warned Iran of possible attacks if the country does not reach a deal on nuclear weapons.
Technical view
After initial weakness, the Nifty gained strength and closed higher and overall maintained its position above the 50 EMA on the hourly chart, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, adding that the RSI on the hourly time frame has remained in a positive crossover.
“Since Friday is the last trading session before the Budget, relatively limited movement can be expected. On the higher side, 25,500 is likely to act as a crucial resistance. On the downside, immediate support is placed at 25,200, below which a sharp decline can be seen in the market,” De said.
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Most active stocks in terms of turnover
Hindustan Copper (Rs 10,030 crore), Hindustan Zinc (Rs 3,763 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 3,469 crore), ICICI Bank (Rs 3,180 crore), RIL (Rs 2,905 crore), Vedanta (Rs 2,291 crore) and Axis Bank (Rs 2,170 crore) were among the most active stocks by value on BSE. Higher activity in a counter in terms of value can help identify the counters with the highest trading turnover per day.
Most active stocks by volume term
Vodafone Idea (shares traded: Rs. 67.89 crore), YES Bank (shares traded: Rs. 26.28 crore), Hindustan Copper (shares traded: Rs. 13.86 crore), Sagility India (shares traded: Rs. 13.37 crore), Canara Bank (shares traded: Rs. 8.87 crore), Eternal (shares traded: Rs. 7.43 crore) and NMDC (shares traded: Rs. 7.15 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks on NSE by volume.
Stocks that show buying interest
Shares of Hindustan Copper, Gujarat Mineral Development Corp, GE Vernova T&D India, ABB India, MRPL, Gland Pharma and eClerx Services were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.
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52 Week High
More than 107 stocks hit their 52-week highs today, while 273 stocks fell to their 52-week lows. Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra and SBI were among those that hit 52-week highs.
Stocks see selling pressure
Stocks that saw significant selling pressure included Asian Paints, InterGlobe Aviation, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, TCS, Sun Pharma and HUL.
Sentiment gauge bearish
Market sentiment was bearish. Of the 4,389 shares traded on the BSE on Thursday, 2,533 shares witnessed a decline, 1,706 a rise, while 150 shares remained unchanged.
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(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions expressed by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
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