Metals and HCL Tech in Focus Ahead of Monday

The market wrapped up a rough week on a more hopeful note, with the Nifty closing Friday at 23,346.40 and the Sensex at 74,294.96, still down for the week (Nifty's sixth straight weekly decline, the longest losing streak for Indian equities since 2020) but showing signs of stabilizing into the close. Monday's open looks set to hinge on whether this late-week recovery has legs. The recovery pattern is worth watching closely. Nifty bounced off an intraday low of 23,286.60 on Friday to finish near the day's highs, marking a third straight session of recovery, a shift from the sharp selling earlier in the week. 23,100 is the level to track at Monday's open. As long as the index holds above this zone, the recent higher-low structure stays intact and further consolidation with a positive bias is likely. A decisive break below it could bring the 22,800-22,500 zone back into play. Metal, Media, and MNC stocks led Friday's gains, making metal counters worth watching early Monday if this sector rotation continues — a pattern where cyclicals have been picking up the slack from weaker IT and banking names through the week.

stands out as a stock to watch. IT was the only major sector to close higher for the week overall, and HCL Tech was among the week's top individual gainers alongside HDFC Life and Bharti Airtel, a contrast to TCS, which was among the weekly laggards. Market breadth was only mildly positive, with 26 advancers against 24 decliners on Friday, a signal that any Monday rally would need broader participation to look convincing rather than another narrow, index-led move. Global backdrop remains a swing factor. Easing crude oil prices helped sentiment late in the week, but persistent FII selling and elevated global bond yields remain unresolved risks that could reassert themselves at any point.