A massive mandate to the incumbent party as BJP created another historical benchmark by nearing the 300+ mark while NDA clinching the 345+ mark. This is much much more than anticipated and what was expected.

A fourth straight week of consolidation as Nifty is oscillating between 11550 - 11800 amid uncertainty, heightened VIX, Lok Sabha Elections and Rising crude oil. All this points to a Tug of war scenario between bulls and bears.

It was a fourth straight week we have seen Nifty strolling between 11550 to 11850. Nifty bank was on the contrary down with some marginal loss. VIX is trading above levels of 21. This is a clear indication of Divergence in sentiments of bulls and bears. This also points to weak breadth we have observed. With Expiry of the series this week, it was a play ground for option writers who used volatility in their favor to eat the premiums.

Nifty forms a Star pattern on the weekly chart as profit booking at higher levels was observed amid a shortened week. Nifty marked a new all-time high of 11856 while Nifty bank also made a new all-time high of 30669. Backed by the improved breadth and bullish sentiment Nifty was seen positive as it breached the bullish continuation formation it had been in the last few days.

Global markets were trading in a very small range amid indecision as there was also some profit booking despite a better than expected number from China of Industrial Production and Retail Sales and US manufacturing Index as well.

After hitting all-time high of 11761 in the Benchmark Nifty50 last week, Index is now consolidating in a range. Nifty50 benchmark has formed higher high for the seven consecutive weeks but on RSI front it formed a negative divergence along with stochastic moved in an overbought territory which led profit booking in the past sessions.

The present consolidation phase will indicate a fresh uptrend resuming in the near future. The index shall resume its uptrend since no major change in stance before election, its structure of higher high and higher bottoms shall continue in near future.

Nifty forms a shooting star after four consecutive weeks of upward momentum indicating some indecision at higher levels. It had been one of the best rallies Nifty posted since last September but a Shooting star now makes it suspicious going forward as the strength of bulls seems to be fading while profit booking is seen in the area of 11500 - 11600.

A shooting star, a Long shadow on the upside with small body below the belt, is seen as a sign of indecision in bulls and bears and is an outcome of the same. The importance of the formation increases after a sustained upward move and that too when it's on the weekly chart makes it very critical.

As India heads for elections in few months, the last budget for the current government could end up as a budget for the people. Markets are expecting some positive announcements from the Finance Minister in the upcoming budget. Epic Research has offered its expectations from Union Budget for the next year.

The budget has always been an event when we expect volatility to expand with perception to safeguard the portfolio and hedge the overall risk in the market we see a lot of activity in the derivatives. This budget is no different than previous but the fact remains it is coming in an Election year.

Indian Markets staged a smart recovery as global cues were positive. As NIFTY and BSE Sensex are in positive zone now, traders can expect markets to remain positive in the coming week. Even if there is a small decline, there could be buying at lower levels. On the positive side, Indian currency also recovered. Forex experts feel that the worst could be over for the Indian currency and we can expect further rally in coming months.

Nifty posted biggest weekly gains since 2016 as Nifty rebounds almost 4.8% to close above 10500 marks. Nifty took an important support of 100 SMA on the weekly chart and rebound was accompanied with a drop in Volatility Index, a measure of fear and buying across was board was visible as Blue-chips rebounded along with Small-cap and Midcap.

Indian Stock Markets witnessed sell-off at higher levels and markets closed nearly one percent lower on Friday. The sell-off led to lower stock valuations after the recent pullback in the markets. The markets will see stock specific action as quarterly results will be announced by companies in the coming weeks. Epic Research has shared the following viewpoints about market direction in coming week.

Bears Engulf on the streets as Bulls were being onslaught at higher levels of 10700 - 10680. The crash and Sell-off was amid multiple factors that were being discounted at one point of time from stock-specific quarterly earnings to FOMC Meeting. A lot was there for investors to be nervous about and that resulted in a sharp sell-off with a rise in volatility.

As part of this month’s Fast Forward India season, BBC World News Business Correspondent Sameer Hashmi interviewed Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, India's first billionaire woman entrepreneur and founder of the country’s largest biopharmaceutical company Biocon. She spoke to new series India’s Game-Changers about her rise to the top, developing new drugs to treat diseases at an affordable cost and her success in a country where women find it hard to get past the first rung in business.

On the challenges of being a woman starting a business in the 1970s:

Nifty ends positively for the third consecutive week on the back of positive global cues but upside remained capped as profit booking was seen with Trade war concerns and US federal rate hike. Bank Nifty lags while defensive sectors shine on the back of value hunting.

Indian aviation sector has witnessed strong growth in the recent quarter. As per latest figures released by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), for domestic sectors, Indian aviation companies served 26 percent more passengers during April. Compared to 9.1 million passengers in April 2017, 11.5 million passengers traveled via air during April 2018.

Connectivity has increased among tier-2 and tier-3 cities across India. Indian government has planned major improvements to regional airports and aviation companies are witnessing growth for small cities.

Occupancy was more than 95 percent for SpiceJet (the airline offers aggressive fares on many routes), followed by Indigo at 91.9 percent occupancy. GoAir also managed impressive occupancy rate of 90%.

Indian stock markets registered impressive gains as the global stock markets improved last week and Indian market was lagging behind. Indian stocks opened strong on Monday and selling pressure was witnessed at higher levels. However, towards the end of the trading session, markets registered strong gains and BSE Sensex closed with gains over 600 points. NSE Nifty closed above 10,400. Market analysts consider 10,300 as an important support level for Nifty and the market crossed this level during the early session.

Indian stock market declined last week despite strong recovery in the U.S. markets. Indian investors continued offloading their holding at higher levels, leading to selling pressure on majority of stocks. While blue-chip companies declined less compared to mid-caps, there were select stocks that managed to recover from their recent lows. If the momentum in the U.S. market continues, Indian stocks should see recovery.

Public Sector Banks suffered after a fraud at PNB was reported last week. PNB lost ground as investors dumped the stock. Other stocks in banking sector also suffered as some of the banks reported higher NPA and slippages in the quarterly results.

Epic Research team has offered its view for the Indian markets below...

Indian markets witnessed extreme volatility as the Dow Jones Industrial Average faced sharp decline after touching all-time high during first week of February. As the U.S. markets declined, Indian stocks also witnessed selling pressure with market dropping by nearly 1,000 points in a single trading session. However, as Dow Jones recovered in the second trading session after decline, Indian stocks jumped back to cover up some of the losses.

Dow Jones declined on Thursday again, sending shockwaves across the globe. Markets in Europe and Emerging markets witnessed decline during the last trading session. Dow Jones recovered some of the losses during Friday trading but volatility has resulted in panic selling in select stocks.

Indian stocks touched new all-time high this week. The markets worldwide have witnessed strong gains, mainly led by the U.S. stock markets. Investors are upbeat and strong economic signals have improved confidence of funds managers about future market returns. Indian stocks touched new high and markets were trading strong with small declines in select counters.

Indian real estate sector is expecting better growth in 2018 and the majority of gains could be witnessed in organized real estate segment. Many Indian real estate developers are working on affordable housing projects. Over the last few years, inventory levels have remained high in fast-growing Indian cities.

In 2018, real estate experts are expecting better demand for affordable housing and medium cost housing in developing cities. The bank interest rates have declined and home buyers can now buy with confidence as real estate developers will be following RERA regulations.

Indian real estate sector is undergoing major changes as the government has announced RERA regulations. State governments have notified their own RERA regulations and real estate developers have to get their projects approved under new ruling. Many rogue developers and real estate companies with limited funding will not be able to start with new projects as requirement bar has been raised by majority of states across India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi could lead delegation of nearly 100 CEOs from Indian companies at Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland. Many top officials and Union Ministers are also expected to attend the event of International business community. As per media reports, Modi is also expected to also expected to address a special plenary session in Davos. After 1997, Modi will be the first Indian Prime Minister to attend the event in almost two decades.

Indian Stock Markets are trading near their all-time high and any negative news at this point can lead to selloff in equities. While the markets have bounced back quite sharply after each minor correction, the sentiment in local markets will largely depend on global cues. The U.S. government is expected to move ahead with tax overhaul and US stocks are leading global rally on expectations of major tax relief for large businesses. Indian Markets can see volatility in December on account of Gujarat Election results.

Indian Markets Recovered from Previous Week's loss and bulls were completely in charge of the market. The sentiment among retail investors are upbeat as many stocks touched their 52-week high. Indian markets are once-again hovering around their all-time high and global cues have led further strength to Indian equities. Majority of voices talking about correction have been silenced (at least for short term) by underlying strength in the market.

Nifty ended up giving a follow up buying post a reversal pattern last week and reversed from its crucial moving averages. The comeback of bulls was led by positive cues coming in from global markets which continued to flourish near all-time highs along with domestic cues as well.