17,146 is the next level that the Nifty 50 has in sight. That is the intraday high of March 17, which the index has failed to surpass so far.

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Index heavyweights finally delivered on Tuesday and led the index higher. However, the 119-point gain on the screen should not mask the fact that the session was extremely choppy.

78 out of the 119 points that the Nifty 50 gained on Tuesday came from two stocks - Reliance Industries (52) and ICICI Bank (26). HDFC Twins also contributed nearly 30 points to the upside on Tuesday and took the index above 17,100 mark.

All eyes are now on the US Federal Reserve ahead of its policy meeting outcome later tonight. The street appears to have priced in a 25 basis point rate hike. The quantum going any higher may result in a negative reaction.

Amit Gupta of ICICI Securities PMS believes FII money will flow into Emerging Markets once things start to stabilise. "when the Indian markets are getting more attractive, and their expensiveness is reducing I think India can be one of the good bets and our most of some of the heavyweights have come down to good levels now that is what I feel in the large-cap space," he said.

What do the charts suggest for Dalal Street?

Deepak Jasani of HDFC Securities concurs with the fact that 17,146 is a crucial level for the Nifty 50 on the upside. The index moved higher after forming a hammer on Friday. A move above 17,146 can take the index to 17,255 in the near-term. 16,985 is seen as a downside support.

The Nifty 50 has been consolidating for the last few days, indicating indecisiveness, according to Rupak De of LKP Securities. The trend, according to him, will remain sideways, as long as the 16,950 - 17,200 range persists on the index.A move above 17,200 can take the index to 17,450 - 17,500, while a fall below 16,950, may trigger a steeper correction in the market.

Kunal Shah of LKP Securities said that the Nifty Bank index has given a consolidation breakout on the daily chart, while the momentum oscillator has entered a bullish crossover. He expects the trend to remain positive as long as the index remains above the 39,500 mark. Immediate resistance is at 40,000, above which, the index can head towards 41,000.

Here are key things to know about the market ahead of the trading session on March 22:

SGX Nifty

On Wednesday, Singapore Exchange (SGX) Nifty futures — an early indicator of the Nifty 50 index — gained 15.5 points or 0.09 percent to 17,159.5, thereby pointing to a subdued opening for the market.

Global Markets

Asian markets have opened higher in mid-week trading after a positive handover from the US overnight.

The Nikkei 225 index has opened 1.5 percent higher, while the Topix is up 1.8 percent. South Korea's Kospi and Kosdaq are trading with gains of 0.8 percent each.

Overnight, the Dow Jones ended with gains of a percent, while the Nasdaq rose 1.6 percent. The S&P 500 closed above the mark of 4,000 for the first time since March 6.

What to expect on Dalal Street

Ruchit Jain of 5paisa.com sees resistance for the Nifty 50 in the 17,145 - 17,225 range. A breakout above this range, according to him, will lead to the next directional move. Immediate support on the downside is seen between 16,800 - 16,900. "All eyes would be on the outcome of the Fed meeting on Wednesday which could be the trigger for the next directional move," he said.

The Nifty 50 index continued its momentum after forming a bullish hammer pattern on Monday and also closed above that high, confirming the validity of the said pattern, said Rohan Patil of SAMCO Securities. He expects the bullish momentum to continue for the next couple of sessions. "Support for the index is placed at 16,800 – 16,750 levels and the upper band of the index is capped at 17,350 – 17400 levels," he said.

Key Levels To Watch

For tomorrow's weekly options expiry, the 16,900 strike call of the Nifty 50 has seen shedding of 12.3 lakh shares in Open Interest. The 17,000 call has also seen shedding of 12 lakh shares in Open Interest. The 17,300 call saw addition of 10.3 lakh shares, while the 17,100 call saw addition of 8.3 lakh shares in Open Interest.

On the downside, the 17,000 put added 38.7 lakh shares in Open Interest, followed by the 17,100 put and 16,900 put, which added 30 lakh shares and 8.9 lakh shares respectively in Open Interest.

Nifty 50's put-call ratio is at 0.88 from 0.83 earlier. Biocon and Indiabulls Housing Finance continue to remain in the F&O Ban.

FII/DII activity

Long Build-up (Increase In Price and Open Interest)

Short Build-up (Decrease In Price and Increase In Open Interest)

First Published:Mar 22, 2023 6:45 AM IST