Nifty 50, Sensex today: What to expect from Indian stock market in trade on March 18

The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are likely to open higher on Tuesday, tracking strong global market cues.

The trends on Gift Nifty also indicate a gap-up start for the Indian benchmark index. The Gift Nifty was trading around 22,744 level, a premium of nearly 160 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close.

On Monday, the domestic equity market indices ended higher, with the Nifty 50 closing above 22,500 level.

The Sensex rallied 341.04 points, or 0.46%, to close at 74,169.95, while the Nifty 50 settled 111.55 points, or 0.5%, higher at 22,508.75.

Here’s what to expect from Sensex, Nifty 50 and Bank Nifty today:

Sensex Prediction

Sensex gained 341.04 points, or 0.46%, to end at 74,169.95, finding support once again near 73,800 and bouncing back sharply.

“On daily charts, Sensex has formed a bullish candle, and on intraday charts, it is holding a higher bottom formation, which is largely positive. We are of the view that as long as Sensex is trading above 73,800, the bullish sentiment is likely to continue. On the higher side, 74,500 would be the immediate resistance zone for the bulls,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities.

Following a breakout above 74,500, he believes Sensex could move toward 74,700 – 74,800. On the flip side, if the index falls below 73,800, the sentiment could change, and below this level, traders may prefer to exit their long positions.

Nifty OI Data

On the Nifty options front, Maximum Call OI (Open Interest) is at 23,000 then 22,800 strike while Maximum Put OI is at 22,000 then 22,500 strike. Call writing is seen at 22,800 then 22,700 strike while Put writing is seen at 22,500 then 22,300 strike, said Chandan Taparia, Head – Derivatives and Technicals, Wealth Management, MOFSL.

Option data suggests a broader trading range in between 22,000 to 23,000 zones while an immediate range between 22,300 to 22,700 levels, he added.

Nifty 50 Prediction

Nifty 50 continued the range bound action on March 17 and closed the day with decent gains of 111 points.

“A long bull candle was formed on the daily chart which indicates an emergence of buying interest from the lower range of 22,300 levels. Nifty 50 has been moving within a high low range of 22,300 – 22,600 levels over the last 5-6 sessions and is currently placed near the upper end of the range,” said Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities.

According to Shetti, a decisive move above the upper range of 22,600 could only open further upside towards 22,800 – 23,000 levels in the near term, while any failure to sustain the highs is likely to drag Nifty 50 down to the lower band of 22,300 levels again.

Om Mehra, Technical Analyst, SAMCO Securities, noted that the momentum indicator MACD holds its bullish crossover, indicating a potential shift in momentum toward an uptrend.

“Nifty 50 has reclaimed its position above the 9-EMA (Exponential Moving Average), However, a decisive close of 22,560, a key resistance level, is vital to confirm strength on the higher side. The support is at 22,380, while retracement towards the 22,430 – 22,440 zone could offer a buying opportunity,” said Mehra.

VLA Ambala, Co-Founder of Stock Market Today, highlighted that the Nifty 50 was back at its pre-election verdict price level, with 22,500 being a crucial level to be observed, which serves as a technical and psychological support range.

“According to the market analysis, if the price fails to gather support within the range of 22,500 to 22,350, which also aligns with its 20-month EMA, we may expect a further dip. In such a situation, I advise long-term investors to consider accumulating quality stocks trading at attractive prices. Considering these developments, Nifty 50 could hover for support near 22,400 and 22,320 and meet resistance between 22,700 and 22,760 in the next market session,” Ambala said.

Bank Nifty Prediction

Bank Nifty rallied 293.75 points, or 0.61%, to close at 48,354.15, on Monday, forming a bull candle with a higher high and higher low, signaling consolidation with positive bias.

“Immediate resistance for Bank Nifty is placed at 48,600 levels being the confluence of the last week high and 20 days EMA, a move above the same will signal a reverse of the corrective trend and open upside towards 49,200 levels in the coming weeks. While failure to move above 48,600 will keep the bias down and a breach below the lower band of the last 9 weeks consolidation range (47,700 – 50,500) will signal acceleration of decline towards 47,000 levels in coming weeks,” said Bajaj Broking Research.

Om Mehra said that the Bank Nifty index is holding firmly above the declining trendline, which has been drawn through recent highs.

“This indicates that the Bank Nifty index has likely formed a short-term base after a decent consolidation. The daily RSI is rebounding from lower levels and is currently positioned at 44, suggesting a gradual recovery. A sustained move above the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level, placed around 48,400, could propel the index higher toward the 48,800 – 49,000 zone,” said Mehra.

However, the index has displayed a pattern of alternating gains and losses, making intraday corrections possible. On the downside, immediate support is placed at 48,150, with a stronger cushion at 48,000, he added.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.