Indian equity benchmarks raced to record highs yet again, with the Nifty50 index not only crossing the 17,000 mark for the first time but also closing 132 points above it. Gains across most sectors led by financial, IT, pharma and metal shares pushed the market higher, as analysts awaited official data on the country's economy.

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Data released after market hours showed India's GDP expanded 20.1 percent on a year-on-year basis in the April-June quarter, meeting Street estimates. A CNBC-TV18 poll had predicted the GDP to grow 20 percent due to the low base last year.

So, what do the charts suggest for Dalal Street?

The index formed a long bull candle on the daily chart for two back-to-back sessions, according to Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities. "Normally, such violent upmoves in the short term more often result in minor consolidation or breather patterns before resuming their upside momentum," he said.

Also read: BSE-listed companies' market value tops Rs 250 lakh crore for first time

Will Nifty take a pause before rising further?

"Nifty50 is gliding in a smooth manner in uncharted territory. It is now approaching the short-term target of 17,200. Over there, the index is likely to take a breather before stretching higher. Traders can consider booking partial profit for their trading positions near 17,200 and tighten the stop loss for the rest of the long positions," said Gaurav Ratnaparkhi, Head of Technical Research at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

Here are key things to know about the market before Wednesday's session:

SGX Nifty

At 8:08 am on Wednesday, Nifty futures trading on Singapore Exchange -- an early indicator of India's NSE Nifty50 benchmark index -- were up 12 points or 0.07 percent at 17,137.50, suggesting a flat start ahead on Dalal Street.

Global markets

Equities in other Asian markets trimmed recent gains in cautious trade on Wednesday amid concerns about slowing global growth thanks to the pandemic. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last seen trading 0.40 percent lower -- off a three-week high touched on Tuesday. Overnight on Wall Street, the three key indices declined 0.04-0.13 percent after US consumer confidence hit a six-month low last month. S&P 500 E-Mini futures were up 0.26 percent, indicating a positive start in the US on Wednesday.

What to expect on Dalal Street

Nifty appears to be in a short-term uptrend without any indication of tiredness at higher levels, according to HDFC Securities' Shetti. "There is a higher possibility of consolidation or minor profit booking from the highs in the short term, hence one may expect the 17,200-17,300 band to be crucial resistance this week."

Key levels to watch out for

Nifty50: Immediate resistance can be expected at 17,300, and 17,500 will be the next psychological hurdle, according to Santosh Meena, Head of Research at Swastika Investmart. Immediate and strong support is expected at 17,000, a move below which can lead towards 16,700 levels, he said.

Nifty Bank: The banking index is still struggling to cross an important hurdle at 36,500, but once it manages to sustain above this level, a sharp rally towards 37,200-37,700 levels may happen, said Meena, who pegs immediate and important support for Nifty Bank at 36,000, below which more weakness can be expected.

(Also read: Can you bank on Bank Nifty now?)

FII/DII activity

Foreign institutional investors pumped a net Rs 3,881.16 crore into the Indian capital market on Tuesday, but net sales by domestic institutional investors were at Rs 1,872.4 crore, exchange data showed.

Call/put open interest

A high degree of call open interest is accumulated at the strike prices of 17,300 and 17,200. On the other hand, the maximum put open interest is at the strike price of 17,000, and then 16,800, NSE data shows. This indicates that immediate resistance can be expected at 17,200, and support can be expected in the 16,800-17,000 zone.

Long build-up

Here are five stocks that saw an increase in open interest as well as price, suggesting a build-up of long positions:

Long unwinding

(Decrease in open interest and price)

Short-covering

(Decrease in open interest and increase in price)

Short build-up

(Increase in open interest and decrease in price)

Stocks hitting 52-week highs

Hindalco, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Holdings, Asian Paints, HCL Tech, Godrej Consumer Products, DMart, Divi's Labs, Britannia, Coforge, CAMS, Dabur, Carborundum Universal and Deepak Nitrite were among the stocks that clocked 52-week highs.

Stocks hitting 52-week lows

Not a single stock in the BSE 500 universe -- the broadest index on the bourse -- hit a 52-week low, though outside the 500-strong club, Arnold Holdings, Bhakti Gems, Dhanashree Electronics, ETT, Greencrest Financial and Premier Capital were among the few stocks that hit 52-week lows.

Volatility gauge

The India VIX index -- which measures the expectation of volatility in the market -- rose 9.02 percent to 14.52 -- its biggest single-day gain since July 8.

(Edited by : Abhishek Jha)

First Published:Aug 31, 2021 8:48 PM IST