Indian stocks are expected to continue to trade inside a range in the near-term; Nifty has immediate resistance around 24,200 and support around 23800; Bank Nifty’s constructive setup maintains the wider bias optimistic. Analysts think a breakthrough over 24,200 might pave the way for 24,400 on Nifty and 58,700-59,000 on Bank Nifty, while profit-booking at higher levels continues to dominate the market activity.
Market conditions
Indian benchmark indexes concluded Thursday’s session on a moderately higher note following intraday volatility, with the Nifty 50 ending at 24,056, up 34.35 points or 0.14%, and the Sensex settling at 77,100.47, up 109.25 points or 0.14%. There was a dramatic decline from intraday highs during the day’s session with Nifty reaching 24,261.60 before losing momentum and the Sensex retreating from 77,803.18.
But the general tone was not feeble. The indexes had their third consecutive week of gains, the longest such run since the first week of December and the best so far in a year with the Nifty gaining 0.2% and the Sensex gaining 0.4% in the week.
Levels to watch for
24,200 is critical ceiling for Nifty in immediate term: Technical experts The near-term trend remains favorable, but failure to break 24,200 might lead to additional consolidation or a modest decline next week with 23,800 functioning as immediate support, said Nagaraj Shetti, HDFC Securities.
Kotak Securities’ Amol Athawale said the market was range bound and a clear breach over 24,200 may push the index above 24,400. Choice Hitesh Tailor Broking said support was seen around 23,900-23,800 and warned that a fall below 23,800 might bring fresh selling and damage the technical structure.
SBI Securities’ Sudeep Shah said that the trend continues to be positive for Bank Nifty following a consolidation breakout, with supports between 57,800 and 57,500 and possible upside to 58,700-59,000, provided the present structure holds.
What is behind trade
The recent rebound in Indian shares came in spite of volatile intraday activity assisted by falling crude oil prices, a sturdier currency and policy assistance efforts to entice offshore funds. Those tailwinds have helped the index remain in the plus on a weekly basis even as higher levels remain a target for sellers.
You may also see sector rotation . Auto and FMCG stocks were the outperformers on Thursday, while IT, metal, oil and gas counters pulled the benchmarks down and mid- and small-cap indices lagged the larger market benchmarks.
Tone forward trading
One thing experts are saying is that the short term structure is still bullish, but we are not yet in a trending breakout period. That makes the next few sessions key as a rise above 24,200 might bring back momentum while repeated failures closer to that zone would sustain the present consolidation band.
For traders, the setting supports stock-specific activity vs aggressive index chasing. Market continues optimistic with support holding and weekly momentum intact but upward may be restricted unless Nifty demonstrates it can absorb supply around 24,200.
