While this may bring chills through popular Western culture, it seems to have little influence on the street market, where markets move more on the fundamentals.
A close look at the trading sessions from last Friday 17th to 13th, including today, suggests that the markets in India are driven more by fundamental factors. In fact, contrary to the long-held belief in the West that the day brings bad luck, historical exchange data shows no consistent pattern of negative performance in Indian equities.
Recent data is a case in point. The Indian market has actually closed higher in 52.94% of the last 17 corresponding sessions – that’s 9 positive closes. In some cases, the gains were outright strong: On March 13, 2020, the Nifty 50 rose as much as 4% in one day, while both September 13 and December 13, 2019, rose nearly 1%. This trend continued on August 13, 2021, and December 13, 2024, when markets again posted gains of nearly 1%.
During the latest instance on 13 February 2026, the Sensex and Nifty fell 1% each to extend losses for a second straight session as a deep sell-off in IT stocks dampened investor sentiment amid growing fears of AI-led disruption.
What’s happening today?
Indian stock markets opened sharply on Friday, with the Sensex down over 800 points and the Nifty below 23,400. Benchmark indexes are on track to record their biggest weekly declines in more than a year as the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel-US and rising crude oil prices hurt investor sentiment.
“The Nifty 50 opened with a sharp gap near 23,476 reflecting continued weakness in the broader market structure. The index is currently under strong bearish control, suggesting a continuation of the current downtrend amid persistent selling pressure,” said Ponmudi R, CEO, Enrich Money.
On the downside, 23,300 appears as an immediate support level. A sustained break below this level could accelerate the decline towards the 23,000-22,500 zone, which represents the next major demand area.
On the upside, 23,600 now acts as immediate resistance, corresponding to the gap area at the open. A strong resistance is placed around 23,800, which should be strongly re-announced to signal any meaningful recovery. Moving indicators continue to reflect weakness, he added.
The RSI remains in the mid-20s, indicating oversold conditions but without any clear reversal signal. Meanwhile, the MACD remains deeply in the negative territory, indicating the continuation of the bearish movement.
((rejection: The recommendations, suggestions, opinions and views given by the experts are their own. (It does not represent the views of The Economic Times.)
