Upcoming Week: Key Market Triggers as Nifty Aims for 26,500 – Auto Sales, SEBI Meeting, FII Inflows, and Global Cues

Stock Market Triggers: Key Factors Influencing Trends This Week
This week, the stock market will be driven by auto sales, domestic macro data, the outcome of the SEBI board meeting, and global cues. D-Street experts predict that the Nifty 50 is eyeing 26,500 as its next target.

The Indian stock market closed September on a remarkably positive note, experiencing a robust bullish rally fueled by strong global cues. As October begins, investors will closely monitor critical market triggers, including domestic and global macroeconomic data, auto sales figures, second-quarter corporate updates, the market watchdog’s board meeting, primary market action, foreign fund inflows, crude oil prices, and global economic indicators.

Intense activity is expected in both the domestic and corporate sectors during the first week of October. The market’s bullish momentum was propelled by the US Federal Reserve’s substantial 50-basis-point rate cut, indicating confidence in the US economy and China’s monetary stimulus measures.

Domestic equity benchmarks, the Sensex and Nifty 50, reached fresh record highs for six consecutive sessions, logging a third consecutive weekly gain. This remarkable performance was primarily driven by a strong rally in metal and financial stocks, which attracted significant buying interest amid improving global and domestic conditions.

After a strong opening, the benchmark indices traded within a narrow range early in the week. However, a sharp rally on Thursday propelled the indices back into an uptrend, bolstered by optimism in US markets and newly announced stimulus measures from China.

The Nifty 50 rose by 0.23%, hitting a new all-time high of 26,277 during Friday’s trading before closing down 0.14% at 26,199. This marked the third consecutive session where the NSE index closed above the critical psychological level of 26,000.

Similarly, the S&P BSE Sensex reached a new peak of 85,978, climbing 0.16%. It ended the session at 85,615, a 0.30% decline from its previous close, but remained above the 85,000 mark for the third straight session. Over the week, the 30-share BSE benchmark jumped 1,027.54 points (1.21%), while the Nifty surged 388 points (1.50%).

On the sectoral front, rate-sensitive sectors such as banking, financials, auto, and real estate were initially in the spotlight, followed by metals and power later in the week. Despite the positive movement in key sectors, broader indices underperformed, closing flat to marginally lower.

Metals and commodity-related stocks outperformed, while IT and export stocks rallied, anticipating a recovery in discretionary spending as signaled by American IT peers. For the week, metal stocks gained over 7%, marking their largest weekly rise since December 2022, outperforming other major indices.

Strong metal prices, supported by the hope that China’s new stimulus measures would bolster its economy and global demand, also contributed to a decline in the dumping of steel products in countries like India.