Last week's breadth breakdown has given way to another repair attempt. That is a genuine change, but the central problem has become worse: the rally is still losing advancing trends. Across six weeks, rebounds have repeatedly failed to replenish Stage 2. This week continued that pattern rather than turning it. The market remains Neutral — Fading.
Repair survives, but Friday takes some back
The share above the 200-day average widened from 24.4% to 26.3% over the week. That leaves breadth better than last Friday's six-week low, though well short of September's 42.5% six-week high. The daily notes followed a recovery that gathered support into Thursday. Friday interrupted it: short-term breadth slipped from 25% to 20.7%, even as Nifty rose. Decliners outnumbered advancers by 1,971 to 563 that day. The week closed with 56 fresh yearly highs against 423 lows. The breakdown has eased, but the recovery has yet to establish a firm footing.
Advancing trends are still being depleted
Stage 2 lost 78 stocks over the week, leaving 587 advancing names. Its share is now 22.9%, a six-week low, compared with 33% at the start of the six-week period. The replacement flow remains poor. Over the last five sessions, seven stocks moved from basing into advancing trends, while 89 moved from advancing into topping. That transition deficit narrowed slightly on Friday after Thursday's six-week low, but it has remained negative for 30 sessions. A small improvement in that balance is no replenishment. Also, last week's review understated the transition deficit: it was 58, not 47.
Leadership needs stricter qualifications
Health Care led the week, up 6.7%, followed by Utilities at 5.6%. Yet only 32% of Health Care is advancing, and Utilities has just 4.8% in Stage 2. Price recovery is running ahead of trend repair. Energy's participation cushion also cracked during the week: its advancing share is now 48.3%, while its weekly return was minus 1.4%. IT retains monthly return leadership at 13%, but only 20.8% of its stocks are advancing. Thursday's partial participation recovery did not hold into Friday.
Our earlier durability read on Paper was wrong. Its advancing share has fallen further to 24%, while telecom equipment still holds at 50%. Industrials has weakened to 21.7%. Financials also remains depleted, with 17.4% advancing despite small improvements late in the week. Public banks remain a narrow exception, holding 25% participation and a positive 20-session expansion. None of these pockets yet changes the wider market's posture.
Setups are exceptions, not confirmation
Shringar House of Mangalsutra and Tech Mahindra lead the early-stage setup list, with scores of 8.4 and 8.2. Their presence is useful for studying individual strength, but a list of qualifying names cannot offset a shrinking advancing cohort. L&T Technology Services moved from basing into Stage 2 during the week. At the other end, Deepak Nitrite moved from topping into declining. Both developments belong in the review. For the week ahead, the test is whether breadth improvement can hold and begin replenishing advancing trends. Until then, the screening picture remains selective rather than broadly supportive.
| Stock | Sector | Move | Setup |
|---|---|---|---|
| L&T Technology Services Ltd | Information Technology | 1→2 | 7.8 |
| Prozone Realty Ltd | Real Estate | 1→2 | 4.2 |
| LG Balakrishnan & Bros Ltd | Industrials | 1→2 | 3.8 |
| Astec Lifesciences Ltd | Materials | 1→2 | 3.2 |
| Finkurve Financial Services Ltd | Financials | 1→2 | 2.8 |
| EMS Ltd | Industrials | 3→4 | — |
| Gulshan Polyols Ltd | Materials | 3→4 | — |
| Deepak Nitrite Ltd | Materials | 3→4 | — |
| Stock | Sector | Setup | RS |
|---|---|---|---|
| U. Y. Fincorp Ltd | Financials | 9.8 | 96 |
| Hitech Corporation Ltd | Materials | 9.3 | 96 |
| Panache Digilife Ltd | Information Technology | 9.0 | 92 |
| Mahamaya Steel Industries Ltd | Materials | 9.0 | 98 |
| South Indian Bank Ltd | Financials | 8.9 | 89 |
| NINtec Systems Ltd | Information Technology | 8.7 | 96 |
| Onward Technologies Ltd | Information Technology | 8.6 | 83 |
| Shringar House of Mangalsutra Ltd | Consumer Discretionary | 8.4 | 86 |
| Sector | 1D | 1M | 3M | RS | Stage 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Care | +0.9% | -2.4% | +1.0% | 75 | 32% |
| Information Technology | +0.8% | +13.0% | +2.3% | 59 | 21% |
| Utilities | -0.1% | -2.5% | -9.2% | 59 | 5% |
| Energy | -0.5% | -2.0% | -8.1% | 55 | 48% |
| Communication Services | -0.5% | +4.9% | +1.2% | 68 | 14% |
| Consumer Discretionary | -0.7% | -3.0% | -3.5% | 62 | 25% |
| Financials | -0.7% | -1.4% | -6.8% | 59 | 17% |
| Real Estate | -0.9% | -2.3% | -6.4% | 55 | 14% |
| Consumer Staples | -1.0% | -3.9% | -10.9% | 47 | 23% |
| Materials | -1.1% | -6.4% | -7.8% | 66 | 28% |
| Industrials | -1.4% | -5.6% | -4.8% | 66 | 22% |
Work the same data live: open the full stock screener, watch the live market dashboard, or check the market-timing read. New to the method? Start with the four stages.
Stage2Stocks is an educational stage-analysis screener. These wraps describe what the screen shows across NSE cash equities — they are not investment advice, recommendations, or buy/sell calls. Always do your own research.