Trade Setup For Dec. 30: Nifty Holds Key Support At 23,500, Eyes Breakout Above 23,860 Resistance
"With no significant triggers in the near term, markets are likely to remain range-bound," said Siddhartha Khemka, head - research, wealth management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
The NSE Nifty 50 consolidates between 23,500 support and 23,860 resistance. Analysts highlight that a breakout above 23,860 may target 24,000-24,100, while a drop below 23,500 could signal further downside.
"Technically, Nifty managed to cross the 200-day simple moving average, or 200-DSMA, on the daily chart but failed to sustain above it, forming a doji candle. On the weekly chart, the index has formed an inside bar candlestick pattern, indicating strong demand near the 23,500-23,540 zone. The 200-DSMA is placed around 23,860, which will act as an immediate hurdle for Nifty. A sustainable move above this level could drive the index towards 24,000–24,100," according to Hrishikesh Yedve, AVP technical and derivatives research at Asit C. Mehta Investment Interrmediates Ltd.
"On the downside, 23,500 remains a key support. In the immediate term, Nifty is expected to consolidate between 23,500 and 23,900, with a breakout on either side defining its next move," said Yedve.
"With no significant triggers in the near term, markets are likely to remain range-bound. Pre-quarterly business updates to be released in the first week of January 2025 will provide insights into the upcoming result season and would be keenly tracked by the markets," said Siddhartha Khemka, head of research, wealth management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.
"After oscillating within a well-established range of 23,650-23,850, the index has formed consecutive doji candles on the daily chart, while the weekly chart shows a spinning top or inside bar candlestick pattern. A decisive move in either direction is required to establish a clear trend," according to Aditya Gaggar, Director of Progressive Shares.
Bank Nifty closed marginally higher at 51,311. Yedve noted that on the daily chart, the index formed a small green candle, and on the weekly chart, it displayed an inside bar candlestick pattern. The 200-Day Simple Moving Average, or 200-DSMA, is currently placed around 50,580, which will serve as strong support, while the 100-Day Exponential Moving Average, or 100-DEMA, at 51,630 acts as resistance.
"In the short term, Bank Nifty is expected to trade within the 50,550–51,650 range, with a breakout in either direction determining its future trajectory,” he said.
FII/DII Activity
Overseas investors stayed net sellers for the ninth consecutive session, and domestic institutional investors stayed net buyers for the eighth straight session on Friday.
FPIs offloaded stocks worth Rs 1,323.29 crore, and domestic institutional investors bought stocks worth approximately Rs 2,544.64 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.
F&O Activity
The Nifty January futures were up by 0.34% to 24,000 at a premium of 187 points, with the open interest up by 4.77%.
The open interest distribution for the Nifty 50 Jan. 2 expiry series indicated most activity at 25,000 call strikes, with the 21,600 put strikes having maximum open interest.
Market Recap
Indian benchmark indices ended Friday's session higher as Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and ICICI Bank Ltd. share prices led. The Nifty 50 ended with gains for the second day in a row. The benchmark indices recouped weekly losses.
The Nifty 50 ended 63.20 points, or 0.27%, higher at 23,813.40, and the Sensex ended 226.59 points, or 0.29%, higher at 78,699.07.
A few hours into Friday's session, the Nifty 50 had risen 0.79% to the day's high of 23,801.40, and the Sensex had climbed 0.73% to the day's high of 79,043.15.
Major Stocks In News
JSW Energy: The company’s arm JSW Neo Energy acquired a 4,696 MW renewable energy platform from O2 Power Midco Holdings and O2 Energy SG for Rs 12,468 crore.
OL Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals: The board approved the subdivision of each share into 5.
Prestige Estates: The company signed a business transfer agreement to transfer the company’s hospitality undertaking to arm Prestige Hospitality Ventures for Rs 313 crore.
Zydus Lifesciences: The company and Sterling Biotech have mutually agreed to extend the deadline for the purchase of the API business of Sterling Biotech from Dec. 31, 2024, to March 31, 2025.
Ola Electric: Anshul Khandelwal resigned from the post of Chief Marketing Officer. Suvonil Chatterjee resigned from the post of chief technology and product officer.
Global Cues
Most stocks in the Asia-Pacific region began the week on a negative note, taking cues from the plunge in Wall Street's technology stocks on Friday's session.
Japan's Nikkei was 254 points, or 0.63%, lower at 40,035, while Australia's S&P ASX 200 was down 36 points or 0.44% at 8,225, as of 6:52 a.m. Futures contracts pointed to losses in mainland China and gains in Hong Kong.
Even while Asian shares are trending lower on Monday, they are still heading for a successful year, according to Bloomberg data.
Stocks in China will be in focus after the central government informed local authorities to offer handouts to people struggling with the cost of living, Bloomberg reported quoting a local news agency.
Chile's unemployment data and Hong Kong trade figures will be released on Monday, alongside US manufacturing activity and pending home sales.
Indian stock market will remain open on Jan. 1, while global markets will be shut on account of the New Year's Day. Analysts expect global markets to continue seeing heightened volatility in the first half of the calendar year 2025.
Stocks in the US ended Friday on a sour note as a selloff in the world’s largest technology companies dragged down the broader market. A gauge of the 'Magnificent Seven' sank 2% on Friday, led by losses in Tesla Inc. and Nvidia Corp.
The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.11% and 1.49%, respectively, on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 0.77%. The US 10-year yield advanced four basis point to 4.62% during the session.
The dollar index — which tracks the greenback's performance against a basket of 10 leading global currencies — was flat at 107.98. However, the dollar is headed for its best year since 2015.
Crude oil prices were trading steady on Monday and is heading for a loss this year. The Brent crude was trading 0.08% lower at $74.11 a barrel as of 7:10 a.m. IST, and the West Texas Intermediate was down 0.14% at $70.50.
Money Market
The Indian rupee weakened sharply on Friday, hitting a fresh record closing low of 85.54 against the US dollar. This marked its steepest single-day decline since February 2023.
The domestic currency, during the trading session, had depreciated 53 paise to hit its lowest ever value of 85.81. It had opened at 85.32 per dollar and had closed at 85.26 on Thursday.
