The StratLab Daily
No. 142 · Friday 18 Sep 2026 · NSE, data through close
Redesign v5 · One-thesis + Market Health · Real data

Foreign money turned; Market Health remains in a Bear Market

FII cash buying returned at +₹600 Cr after −₹3,209 Cr, but risk remains Very High.

What happenedThe turn happened: FII cash moved to +₹600 Cr after −₹3,209 Cr. DII was +₹1,020 Cr.
The tensionFII net index futures stood at -288,428, at the 1th percentile of the year. That flow turn sits against a Bear Market phase.
Net readA flow-led recovery signal sits inside a Bear Market with Very High risk.
Nifty Close
23,346.40
+0.33%
Market Phase
🔴 Bear Market
session 2 · ↑ recovering
MHI
30.44
9th %ile
Risk
Very High
confidence 45
FII Idx Fut
−288.4K
1.2th %ile
Walls
23.3–23.4K
PE base · CE wall
01 The crowd

01 | The crowd

Positioning over the last 20 sessions
FII net index futures · 20 sessions · '000 contracts · endpoint = 18 Sep · source: StratLab participant OI
What this means: Foreign money turned to cash buying. FII cash was +₹600 Cr after −₹3,209 Cr, with DII at +₹1,020 Cr.
02 The turn

02 | The turn

What this means: The marginal flow shifted on the day. The recovery signal is strongest in cash, while FII index futures remained -288,428.
03 The catch

03 | The catch: Market Health

Market health over the last 20 sessions
Market Health Index · 20 sessions · 0–100 · endpoint = 18 Sep · percentiles vs 1,285 sessions
What this means: Trend is Recovering, but phase is Bear Market and risk is Very High. Market Health Index (MHI) is 30.44, at the 8.6 percentile, with 45.0 confidence.
Phase
🔴 Bear Market
risk Very High
Participation
80.2419
delivery breadth
StratLab Breadth Index
36.5
31th %ile, trailing year
04 Days like today

04 | Days like today

The terrain remains a Bear Market despite a Recovering trend. The phase run length is 2.
Conditions analog · Phase + Trend + Risk match
n = 67 · tier: exact
HorizonAvgMedianWin rateWorst
Next session−0.20%−0.16%33%−4.78%
Next 5 sessions+0.01%+0.00%50%−4.77%
Next 10 sessions+0.33%+0.58%54%−7.12%
Next 20 sessions+1.34%+0.87%64%−6.63%
Conditions like today historically favored a 0.01% five-day average outcome across 67 matches, with a -4.77% worst case.

Guarded recovery

05 Tomorrow's tripwires

Three checks that settle the argument

Confirm | Cash buying
FII cash was +₹600 Cr after −₹3,209 Cr, while DII was +₹1,020 Cr.
Watch | Futures overhang
FII net index futures remained -288,428, at the 1th percentile of the year.
Break | Market Health
Bear Market phase and Very High risk remain the central constraint on the Recovering trend.
The ledger

Where that leaves us

Lines up bullish
  • FII cash +₹600 Cr after −₹3,209 Cr
  • DII +₹1,020 Cr
  • 0.01% five-day average across 67 matches
Lines up bearish
  • FII net index futures -288,428
  • Bear Market phase
  • −4.77% five-day worst case across 67 matches

Net read: Cash buying marks a real turn, but the broader read remains a guarded recovery inside a Bear Market.

Foreign money turned through cash buying, but Market Health remains a Bear Market with Very High risk.

Regime