Mumbai: The Indian equity benchmarks ended the week on a weak footing, with the Nifty slipping below the 25,000 mark. The Sensex closed down 501.51 points at 81,757.73, while the Nifty shed 143.05 points to end at 24,968.40 on Friday, the last trading session of the week.
Global cues remained uncertain due to rising crude oil prices amid disruptions in Iraq and unclear signals regarding the U.S. Fed’s rate stance, fuelling inflationary concerns for oil-importing countries like India.
“On the weekly chart, Nifty has formed three consecutive bearish candles from recent highs, indicating loss of upward momentum,” said Mandar Bhojane, Senior Technical Analyst at Choice Equity Broking Private Limited.
Technically, the Nifty has now entered a crucial demand zone between 25,000 and 24,770, which is expected to act as immediate support.
Any bullish reversal from this zone could lead to a fresh rally towards 26,000 and 26,400 levels in the coming weeks and despite the price correction, falling volume suggests that the decline lacks aggressive selling pressure, which indicates that overall trend structure remains bullish, said Bhojane.
Most sectoral indices ended in the red, led by losses in banking, energy, and FMCG sectors, while broader markets also saw profit booking with a correction of nearly 1 per cent.
“As we head into the new week, earnings from heavyweights like HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank will be key triggers for market direction,” Bhojane added.
Traders should stay cautious and look for confirmation signals before taking directional trades, the index is showing support levels between 24,900-24,800 and resistance levels between 25,200-25,500, the analyst said.
Meanwhile, the Bank Nifty index closed at 56,283, registering a 0.83 per cent decline from the previous week’s close following selling pressure amid earnings reports.
This selling pressure suggests a potential pause in the ongoing uptrend, pointing towards a likely sideways to bearish or consolidation phase in the near term.
“As long as the index holds below the 57,000 mark, a “sell on rise” strategy remains advisable, with downside targets placed at 56,000 and 55,500,” Bhojane highlighted.
On the weekly timeframe, Bank Nifty is trading above all its key moving averages—including the short-term 20-day, medium-term 50-day, and long-term 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMA)—indicating an overall uptrend.
The index is likely to face significant resistance in the 56,500–57,000 range. For the ongoing expiry, put options show the highest concentration near the 56,000 and 55,500 strikes, marking these as key support levels, according to the analyst.
(IANS)
