Map the overnight context
Review major global indices, bond yields, the dollar, crude oil and any large move in sectors relevant to Indian equities. Note direction and magnitude without assuming the same move must repeat locally.
Check the day’s known catalysts
Build a short calendar of central-bank decisions, inflation or employment data, major earnings, index rebalances and regulatory announcements. Scheduled risk often changes liquidity before the event as much as price after it.
- Results and corporate actions for stocks on your watchlist
- NSE/BSE circulars and material company filings
- Domestic and global macro releases
- Expiry, holiday or shortened-session effects
Define conditions, not predictions
Write two or three scenarios: trend continuation, failed breakout and range-bound trade. For each, identify the price behaviour that would confirm it and the point that would invalidate it.
A checklist should reduce impulsive decisions. If spreads, volatility or data quality are outside your limits, the checklist should also make it easy to skip the session.