NSE Weekly Market Update: Breadth Remains Bearish
NSE's Altra Market score sits at a bearish 8.9, indicating poor breadth. Sector leaders like Pharma and Metal are accelerating, but overall conditions
The Indian equity market, as measured by AltraOne's market-wide momentum analysis, currently signals a distinctly bearish environment. The Altra Market score, which gauges the overall market's breadth by measuring the percentage of stocks above key Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs) and reflecting its general texture, stands at a low 8.9. This score indicates poor breadth and suggests an unfavorable market for active trading, urging participants to generally stay on the sidelines. This week's score also represents a further decline of 13.6 points from last week, continuing a downward trend with a 15-day score reduction of 17.9 points.
Delving into the market's internal dynamics, the breadth figures reinforce this cautious outlook. A mere 4.0% of stocks are currently trading above their 20-day EMA, a short-term trend indicator, and an identical 4.0% are above their 50-day EMA, which reflects intermediate-term momentum. While 14.0% of stocks remain above their longer-term 200-day EMA, the immediate and medium-term participation is notably weak. The daily advances-to-declines ratio further underscores this trend, with only 14 stocks advancing against 36 declines, indicating broad-based selling pressure.
Sector Performance and Relative Strength
Despite the overall bearish market texture, a closer look at Altra Sector scores reveals pockets of relative strength. An Altra Sector score is a momentum reading applied at the sector level, accompanied by a relative-strength rank against other sectors in the same market. Currently, 7 out of 11 sectors are categorized as bullish, 2 as neutral, and 2 as bearish, suggesting a divergence between sector-level strength and overall market breadth. This indicates that while some sectors maintain bullish momentum, it's not translating into widespread market participation.
Nifty Pharma retains its top spot as the #1 ranked sector, holding its position from last week. It is categorized as a Confirmed Leader, and its momentum is accelerating, suggesting sustained strength. Nifty Metal also holds steady at #3, similarly noted as a Confirmed Leader with accelerating momentum. Meanwhile, Bank Nifty, ranked #2, is a Confirmed Leader but shows signs of cooling off, indicating a potential moderation in its momentum.
A notable move this week comes from Nifty FMCG, which jumped 7 ranks to claim the #4 spot. While still categorized as
What is the Altra Market score? The Altra Market score measures overall market breadth — the proportion of stocks in an index trading above key moving averages. A score above 60 signals broad market participation and a healthy momentum environment. Below 40 signals broad weakness. It is updated daily after market close.
Track these scores daily on AltraOne — momentum analytics for NSE, S&P 500, and TSX, updated every trading day after market close.
Altra Score is a momentum indicator reflecting EMA alignment and RSI trend across daily, weekly, and monthly timeframes. It is not investment advice. Past momentum does not guarantee future performance. Please consult a SEBI-registered advisor before making investment decisions.