Indian equity benchmarks roared to record closing highs on Thursday propelled by strength across most sectors, a day after the outcome of the the Federal Reserve policy review met Street expectations. The Nifty50 index came within 160 points of the psychological level of 18,000 before trimming gains. Easing concerns about the financially-troubled Chinese property developer Evergrande boosted the morale of investors around the globe.

Share Market Live

NSE

Realty stocks skyrocketed with the sectoral index reaching a nearly 11-year peak. Financial stocks were in high demand, with the Bank Nifty spiking 2.2 percent.

So, what do the charts suggest for Dalal Street?

The 50-scrip benchmark has formed a strong bullish breakout candle in the short timeframe, and has consistently maintained a higher bottom series that suggests an uptrend, according to Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail) at Kotak Securities.

"For day traders, key support will be at 17,800-17,750-17,720 levels, and 17,900-17,950-17,990 levels could act as a major hurdle in the short term. Contrarian traders can take a long bet between 17,750 and 17,720 with a strict stop loss at the support level of 16,910," he said.

All eyes on Mount 18,000

"The market is celebrating easing of concerns in China's Evergrande crisis and no major surprise from the US central bank," said Ajit Mishra, VP-Research at Religare Broking.

He expects the upmove to continue as market participants eye the 18,000 mark in Nifty now "We reiterate our view of remaining selective and avoiding going overboard," Mishra added.

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

SGX Nifty

At 8:13 am on Friday, Nifty futures trading on Singapore Exchange -- an early indicator of India's Nifty50 benchmark index -- were up 23 points or 0.1 percent at 17,852, suggesting a mildly positive start ahead on Dalal Street.

Global markets

Equities in other Asian markets were largely flat on Friday, despite overnight gains on Wall Street. In the US, the three main indices jumped 1-1.5 percent in their best day in two months, as investors brushed off concerns over the Federal Reserve's tapering plans.

The Fed said on Wednesday it could begin reducing its monthly bond purchases by as soon as November, and that interest rates could rise quicker than expected by next year. The November deadline was largely priced in by markets.

What to expect on Dalal Street

Rahul Sharma, Co-Founder of Equity99, said the 50-scrip index might hit the 18,000 mark on Friday.

"The realty sector is driving the rally, and the stocks in this basket are in focus due to improvements in China's Evergrande Group and also as registration jumps due to reduction in stamp duty," said Sharma, who expects banking, fertiliser, media and realty shares to be in focus on Friday.

Key levels to watch out for

Nifty50: The next resistance is placed at 17,850, followed by 17,900, and a bigger hurdle at 18,000, whereas support comes in at 17,750, followed by 17,710- 17,700 levels, according to Sharma.

Bank Nifty: For the banking index, the 37,880 level will now act as an immediate hurdle, and the next resistance is placed is 38,000 levels, whereas support comes is expected at 37,700-37,600 levels, followed by 37,475.

ALSO READ: Can you bank on Bank Nifty now?

FII/DII activity

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Indian equities worth Rs 357.9 crore on Thursday, whereas net purchases by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were at Rs 1,173.1 crore, exchange data showed.

ALSO READ: FIIs remain bullish on India, net purchase Rs 13,083-crore Indian shares so far in Sept

Call/put open interest

The maximum call open interest is concentrated at the strike prices of 17,850, and then 18,000. On the other hand, there is a high degree of put open interest at 17,700, NSE data shows. This suggests that immediate resistance can be expected at 17,850, followed by 18,000, and immediate support comes in at 17,700.

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

Reliance Industries, ONGC, Tech Mahindra, L&T, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Coal India, HCL Tech, Indian Hotels, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Zee Entertainment and JSW Energy were among the 55 stocks in the BSE 500 index — the broadest gauge on the stock exchange — that clocked 52-week highs.

L&T Infotech, L&T Tech Services, Coforge, Allcargo, Brigade, Can Fin Homes, DLF, Godrej Properties, Oberoi Realty, DMart, Escorts, GMR Infra, Blue Dart, Mindtree, Mphasis, Voltas, Tata Power and Apollo Hospitals also hit the milestone.

52-week lows

No stock in the BSE 500 universe hit a 52-week low. Apart from that, Suvidhaa Infoserve was among the few stocks that hit the trough.

Volatility gauge

NSE's India VIX index -- which gauges the expectation of volatility in the near term -- rose 0.7 percent to 16.6 on Thursday, having spiked as much as 2.7 percent during the session.

First Published:Sept 23, 2021 8:31 PM IST