Ahead of Market: 10 things that will decide D-Street action on Monday

The Indian market closed sharply higher on Friday, the second trading session of the new year, with the Nifty 50 notching a fresh record as a broad-based rally took hold. Strong corporate updates buoyed earnings expectations, lifting investor sentiment across sectors.

The Nifty 50 climbed as much as 193.45 points during the session to an all-time high of 26,340 before closing at 26,328.55, up 182 points, or 0.7%. The BSE Sensex advanced 573 points, or 0.67%, to finish at 85,762.

Here’s how analysts read the market pulse:
After the New Year-led holidays, global markets kicked off 2026 on a positive note, while strong domestic automobile sales helped Indian equities touch a fresh all-time high, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments. He added that investor sentiment remains broadly constructive as attention turns to Q3 earnings, which are expected to guide near-term market direction.

“Supportive fiscal policies and gradual monetary easing are likely to shape the investment landscape in 2026. However, investors are focusing on large-cap stocks for stability while selectively exploring mid-cap opportunities in cyclical sectors and areas driven by domestic growth,” Nair said.

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US markets
U.S. stocks finished mixed on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 closing higher to kick off 2026 and snap a four-session slide, as strength in chipmakers such as Nvidia and Intel, along with gains in Boeing, helped underpin sentiment.
The Dow climbed 319.10 points, or 0.66%, to end at 48,382.39, while the S&P 500 added 12.97 points, or 0.19%, to close at 6,858.47. The Nasdaq Composite edged lower, slipping 6.36 points, or 0.03%, to 23,235.63.European markets
European shares began 2026 on a strong footing, climbing to record levels on Friday and extending last year’s rally, as gains in technology and defence stocks lifted regional markets.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.7% to 596.14, leaving it within striking distance of the closely watched 600 level as investors returned from the New Year break. The benchmark also logged its third consecutive weekly gain.

Tech view
The index has broken above its previous swing high, reinforcing a positive trend bias, and the bullish crossover of the 20-day and 50-day EMAs further strengthens the upward structure, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities. He added that the daily RSI has broken out of its prior consolidation phase, signalling a pickup in momentum.

“The trend is expected to remain firm in the near to short term, with a buy-on-dips approach favouring the bulls as long as the index sustains above 26,000. On the upside, a decisive move above 26,350 could open the door for an advance towards 26,600 in the short term,” De said.

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Most active stocks by turnover
ITC (Rs 4,153 crore), Hindustan Copper (Rs 2,265 crore), Vodafone Idea (Rs 1,711 crore), IDBI Bank (Rs 1,515 crore), Coal India Ltd (Rs 1,476 crore), Godfrey Philips (Rs 1,311 crore) and Transformers & Rectifiers (Rs 1,304 crore) were among the most active stocks on the BSE in value terms. Higher activity in value terms helps identify stocks with the highest trading turnover during the session.

Most active stocks by volume
Vodafone Idea (traded shares: 144.64 crore), Ola Electric Mobility (28.5 crore), IDBI Bank (13.5 crore), ITC (11.87 crore), YES Bank (11.48 crore), SJVN (8.22 crore) and Suzlon Energy (5.95 crore) were among the most actively traded stocks by volume on the NSE.

Stocks showing buying interest
Shares of SJVN, IDBI Bank, Transformers & Rectifiers, Bosch, Ola Electric Mobility, Coal India Ltd and JBM Auto were among the stocks that witnessed strong buying interest from market participants.

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52-week highs and lows
Over 185 stocks hit their 52-week highs on Friday, while 83 slipped to their 52-week lows. Among those touching fresh 52-week highs were Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra.

Stocks seeing selling pressure
Stocks that witnessed significant selling pressure included ITC, Nestle India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, InterGlobe Aviation and UltraTech Cement.

Sentiment meter: Bullish
Market sentiment remained bullish. Of the 4,371 stocks traded on the BSE on Friday, 2,711 advanced, 1,524 declined and 136 remained unchanged.

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(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)