The StratLab Daily
No. 124 · Friday 21 Aug 2026 · NSE, data through close
Redesign v5 · One-thesis + Market Health · Real data

Market Health Index (MHI) drops to 43.1 as phase turns to Weak Downtrend

Transition gave way to Weak Downtrend with high risk; index closed at 24,252, +0.08%.

What happenedPhase shifted from Transition to Weak Downtrend with MHI down from 48.7 to 43.1.
The tensionHealth percentile sits at 19.7 while risk reads high; trend is weakening.
Net readNet health is weak: MHI 43.1, confidence 10.0, phase run length 1.
Nifty Close
24,252.00
+0.08%
Market Phase
🟠 Weak Dntrend
session 1 · ↓ weakening
MHI
43.06
20th %ile
Risk
High
confidence 10
FII Idx Fut
−209.9K
29.7th %ile
Walls
24.2–24.3K
PE base · CE wall
01 The crowd

The crowd

Positioning over the last 20 sessions
FII net index futures · 20 sessions · '000 contracts · endpoint = 21 Aug · source: StratLab participant OI
What this means: Benchmark closed at 24,252, up 0.08% on the day.
02 The turn

The turn

What this means: MHI dropped from 48.7 to 43.1 and the phase flipped from Transition to Weak Downtrend.
03 The catch

The catch

Market health over the last 20 sessions
Market Health Index · 20 sessions · 0–100 · endpoint = 21 Aug · percentiles vs 1,267 sessions
What this means: Market Health is now Weak Downtrend with high risk; MHI at 43.1 and 19.7 percentile.
Phase
🟠 Weak Downtrend
risk High
Participation
55.8233
delivery breadth
StratLab Breadth Index
41.6
39th %ile, trailing year
04 Days like today

Days like today

Conditions like today historically favored a five-day average of -0.93% across 12 matches; worst analog was -2.97%.
Conditions analog · Phase + Trend + Risk match
n = 12 · tier: exact
HorizonAvgMedianWin rateWorst
Next session−0.11%−0.27%42%−1.65%
Next 5 sessions−0.93%−1.08%27%−2.97%
Next 10 sessions−0.76%−0.90%36%−3.54%
Next 20 sessions−1.14%−0.87%36%−4.92%
This Weak Downtrend is only 1 session old; 12 analog matches skew negative with average -0.93% and worst -2.97%.

Posture reads defensive because the new phase is Weak Downtrend with high risk and health percentile at 19.7.

05 Tomorrow's tripwires

Three checks that settle the argument

MHI reclaims 48.7
A move back above the prior MHI level of 48.7 would challenge the Weak Downtrend phase.
Index holds 24,252
The +0.08% close at 24,252 is the level to watch for early phase rejection.
Five-day slide to -2.97%
A forward move matching the worst analog of -2.97% would confirm downside continuation.
The ledger

Where that leaves us

Lines up bullish
  • Index closed positive at 24,252, +0.08%.
  • Weak Downtrend is only 1 session old with no trigger analog in play.
  • Prior analog worst of -2.97% is contained relative to the -0.93% average.
Lines up bearish
  • MHI fell from 48.7 to 43.1 in one session.
  • Health percentile sits at 19.7 with high risk.
  • Conditions like today historically favored -0.93% average five-day returns.

Net read: Net view: the +0.08% index close is outweighed by a fresh Weak Downtrend and MHI at 43.1; conditions like today historically favored -0.93% forward five days.

Bottom line: Market Health Index (MHI) shifted to Weak Downtrend at 43.1 with high risk; conditions like today historically favored -0.93% over five days.

Regime