What is your view for the stock markets on Friday 27 August?

The August F&O expiry was largely uneventful with the Nifty ending the day just 2 points above the previous day closing. The action was seen more in the defensive counters like FMCG majors Britannia and Tata Consumer. There were also among the major gainers of the day. Volumes were relatively high on Thursday, which is normal for F&O expiry days.

The breadth of market indicator, A/D ratio, continued to be under pressure at 22:28. This has been the trend in the last few days and it is evident that the market struggling to move higher from current levels in the absence of fresh triggers. The futures rollover was quite smooth with little disruption and the focus now shifts to the September expiry.

Foreign portfolio investors were net sellers worth Rs.1,975 crore on 26 Aug while domestic institutions bought Rs.1,055 crore. In terms of global markets, the Dow and the NASDAQ were lower by about 65 bps while Europe was also under pressure. SGX Nifty is weak in early trades and we could see some week end selling on the market.

An important event that needs to be watched is the core sector numbers for July which will be announced along with the GDP on the last day of the current month. GDP is expected to be robust in the range of 19-21%, but the real test will be the high frequency indicator of core sector data which will give the first indication if India is growing above 2019 levels.