Nifty to cross 18,400 or bears to rage on D-St? Check US stocks, Asian markets, FII activity, SGX Nifty, more

The SGX Nifty lost 0.36% in trade on Wednesday morning, signaling that domestic indices NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex would open on a negative basis. Nifty futures were 36 points lower on the Singaporean exchange at 18,295. Benchmark indices NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex trimmed gains and settled almost flat on Tuesday. The Nifty 50 rose 33 points or 0.18% to 18,348 and Sensex rose 0.03% to end at 61,981.79. 

“During the day, the Nifty index exhibited a predominantly sideways movement, hovering around the 18,400 level. Despite the lack of significant fluctuations, market sentiment remained optimistic as the Nifty managed to sustain its position above the support level of 18,300. However, a notable resistance was observed at 18,500. If the Nifty manages to break through this resistance decisively, it could potentially trigger a rally towards the 18,800 level,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Key things to know before share market opens

Wall Street

Wall Street settled lower on Tuesday as the US debt ceiling impasse continued. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.69%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 1.26% while the S&P 500 fell 1.12%.

Asian Markets

Shares in Asia-Pacific were largely trading in the red, following cues from Wall Street. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng tanked 0.79% while China’s Shanghai Composite traded lower by 0.26%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 crashed 1.03% as Taiwan’s TSEC 50 was 0.4% lower and South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.17%. 

Crude Oil

Oil prices gained on Wednesday after U.S. oil and fuel supplies tightened and as a warning from the Saudi energy minister to speculators raised the prospect of further OPEC+ output cuts.

FII/DII Data

Foreign institutional investors (FII) net bought shares worth net Rs 182.51 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) net purchased shares worth net Rs 397.29 crore on May 23, according to the provisional data available on the NSE.

F&O Ban

The National Stock Exchange has Delta Corp and Indiabulls Housing Finance securities on its F&O ban list for 24 May. According to the NSE, stocks are prohibited in the F&O sector when they have exceeded 95% of the market-wide position limit (MWPL). During the F&O ban period, no new positions are permitted for F&O contracts in that stock.

Bank Nifty Outlook 

“Bank Nifty index experienced range-bound movement throughout the day, indicating a lack of clear trend. The ongoing battle between bulls and bears suggests a struggle for control in the market. The index found immediate support at 43,500 and faced resistance at 44,100, highlighting key levels to watch. A break above or below this range could trigger significant directional moves in the market,” said Kunal Shah, Senior Technical & Derivative Analyst at LKP Securities.

Technical View

“Technically, the index has produced a Hammer candlestick reversal configuration on the daily charts, which suggests a high likelihood of transient weakness. We think that since the short-term market structure is non-directional, level-based trading is the best approach for day traders. Currently, 18,300 would serve as a key support level for traders. Above that point, the index may rise as high as 18,450–18,500. On the other hand, selling pressure is likely to increase below 18,300. Nifty could decline until 18,200–18,175 below the same,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities.

Levels to Watch

“Traders are not expecting a large movement in either direction for this week’s expiry for this index. NSE Nifty 50 has an almost equal number of sold puts and sold calls going into this expiry. For Nifty to start its next leg of up move, it has to close above the 18,550 mark and sustain over there which would be its next trigger to break it’s all-time high,” said Rahul Ghose, Founder & CEO, Hedged.