It was another lackluster trading session for NIFTY, as buyers once again failed to sustain the early gains. The index began the session on a slightly positive note, with buyers initially exhibiting resilience and pushing prices close to the week’s highs. However, a sudden bout of profit booking around mid-day erased the early gains, dragging the index below its morning lows. A modest recovery in the final hour helped NIFTY trim some of the losses, with the index eventually settling at the 24078 mark, up a marginal 0.11%.

With prices remaining strangulated within the ongoing trading range of 24260 on the upside and 24000 on the downside, no meaningful changes have emerged in the underlying technical structure. As highlighted in our previous commentary, unless the index delivers a decisive breakout or breakdown from this well-defined range, we do not expect any significant expansion in directional momentum. Until then, participants should continue to monitor the index for a convincing breakout before adopting aggressive directional positions. That said, the repeated rejection of prices from the 24250–24300 resistance band points to the presence of strong overhead supply. In addition, a developing Bearish Head and Shoulders pattern on the shorter timeframe charts, with its neckline positioned around the sacrosanct 23850–23800 support zone, tilts the near-term bias marginally in favor of the sellers. Having said that, the bearish implications of the pattern will only begin to unfold on a decisive break below the immediate 24000 support. Such a move is likely to result in a retest of the critical 23850–23800 support cluster. A convincing breakdown below this sacrosanct support zone would not only confirm the Head and Shoulders pattern but could also trigger a meaningful acceleration in downside momentum, exposing the index to significantly lower levels. In terms of resistance, while the 24200-24250 zone continues to position as an immediate hurdle, the 24300-24350 zone is a stronger resistance.

The broader market, particularly the MIDCAP and SMALLCAP universe, continues to outperform the frontline indices. In such an environment, participants should continue to adopt a stock-specific approach, as the benchmark indices remain devoid of any meaningful directional momentum. Until a decisive trend emerges in the frontline indices, focusing on fundamentally and technically stronger stocks and sectors is likely to offer a more favorable risk-reward proposition.

Key levels to watch

NIFTY

Support: 24000 – 23850

Resistance: 24200- 24300

BANKNIFTY

Support: 57300 – 57200

Resistance: 58200 – 58200

Hitesh Rathi, Technical Analyst -Equity & Derivatives, Angel One.