Evening Walk Down Dalal Street: After a tough week, investors say TGIF! Nifty to be stuck in a range

Indian market consolidated for a second consecutive session in a row on Friday and closed flat. However, on weekly basis, both Sensex and Nifty rose 0.6 percent, and 0.2 percent respectively.

The big outperformer was the broader market as both Nifty Midcap and Small-cap indices recorded gains of over 2 percent each for the week ended February 22.

In terms of sectors, Nifty Metal rose 6 percent, followed by nearly 5 percent rally in the Realty sector, and Nifty Media rose 3.7 percent in the week.

The Nifty formed a Hammer-like candle on the weekly charts and close above 10808 could confirm bullish bias. But, the market is getting nervous around 10800 levels due to lack of leadership in terms of stocks or sectors.

After hitting a bottom at 10585, experts feel that the index should retest 10900 in the coming week, but could face selling pressure at higher levels around 11,000 in the short term.

“There is some kind of nervousness around 10800 but the kind of move which started from 10585 two days back, the chances of the index retesting highs of 10900-10950 remain high. Fundamentally, if we look at the trading zone of 10550-11000, Nifty trades at 17.7x 1-year forward earning and valuation point of view we would find buying support whenever the index slips below 10600,” Shailendra Kumar, CIO, Narnolia Financial Advisors Ltd told Moneycontrol.

“On the higher side, for the market to break pat 11000 ceiling, the index requires some leadership and right now for the last three months we don’t have any specific pocket in the market which is consistently doing better than the average market. Without leadership the range will remain for the foreseeable short term as well,” he added.

Stocks in news:

Shares of GMR Infrastructure gained 2 percent after the company signed a concession agreement to develop a new international airport in Greece.

Kotak Mahindra Bank shares fell over 3 percent as 8.3 crore shares worth Rs 10,307 crore traded on both indices.

Adani Enterprises surged over 7 percent after Adani Defence bags UAV contract from Indian Army worth USD 2 billion.

Shares of Suzlon Energy rose 31 percent on the back of a report that a Danish firm may buy a controlling stake in the company.

Global Updates:

European market were trading mixed as market participants closely monitored the signs of progress in trade talks between the US and China.

Among Asia, the Shanghai composite index rose nearly 2 percent to close at 2,804.23, South Korea's Kospi ended higher at 2,230.50 and Hang Seng index finished 0.3 percent higher at 28816.30.

Meanwhile, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.18 percent to finish at 21,425.51.