Indian markets closed almost flat on Thursday and the trading session was range-bound. Markets are waiting for Jerome Powell's policy speech tomorrow. Indian Equity markets join hands with global markets for a wait and watch mood ahead of Powell's speech in Jackson hole. Indian Market Comments and Outlook by Santosh Meena, Head of Research, Swastika Investmart follow.....

Indian equity market witnessed a range-bound session today where we missed intra-day volatility despite the August month F&O expiry. All global markets are in wait and watch mood ahead of Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson hole symposium tomorrow and we also joined hands with them. We are not expecting any hawkish commentary by Powell amid rising covid cases in the US therefore we are seeing just a consolidation at an all-time high instead of any profit-booking. We will react to this event on Monday because Powell's speech is scheduled for Friday night as per Indian timing therefore we can expect another sideways day tomorrow. If we talk about the broader market then it was the third day in a row where midcap and smallcap space outperformed with a decent advance-decline ratio.

Technically, Nifty formed an indecisive Doji candlestick formation near an all-time high for the second day in a row. 16700 is acting as an immediate hurdle but if Nifty manages to sustain above this level then we can expect a short covering move towards the 16900 level. On the downside, 16500 is an immediate psychological support level while 20-DMA of 16332 is critical support at any pullback. Momentum Indicator RSI is in overbought territory but it may remain overbought for some more time.