The automated ball indentation (ABI) technique has been used to obtain the tensile properties of 316LN stainless steel (SS). In order to study the complex state of stress prevailing during plastic deformation in the ABI test specimen under spherical indenter, finite element analysis (FEA) was carried out on an axisymmetric model of ABI indenter and specimen. The stresses that were obtained along the surface confirmed the requirement of finite interplanar spacing to be maintained between successive indentations. The evolution of plastic zone has been studied using von Mises yielding criterion. The plastically deformed zone existed up to the depth approximately equal to 1.5 times the diameter of indenter. The accumulation of strain in the specimen close to the indenter tip was inferred similarly from both FEA and the strain map experimentally determined using electron backscatter diffraction. The stress–strain curves for 316LN SS at 298 K and 923 K were predicted by combining FEA procedures with ABI testing.