Trade Setup For Sept. 18: Nifty Faces Resistance At 25,550–25,650 Levels

The NSE Nifty 50, which rose for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, faces resistance at 25,550 to 25,650 levels, according to analysts.

In view of the current trends, 25,350–25,300 will be the key support level for the frontline index, according to Shrikant Chouhan, head of equity research at Kotak Securities Ltd. "On the higher side, it could move up to 25,550–25,650."

The S&P BSE Sensex faces support at 82,900–82,700 levels, and the key resistance area for the index is 83,400–83,800, Chouhan said.

As long as the market is trading above the same, the bullish texture is likely to continue. On the flip side, the sentiment can change if Nifty trades under 25,300 and Sensex slides below 82,700, Chouhan said.

"The view on the index (Nifty) will remain the same, i.e., awaiting a breakout from a bullish pennant and pole formation," Aditya Gaggar, director of Progressive Share Brokers, said.

Bank Nifty has sustained above the cup-and-handle breakout level of 51,750, indicating potential strength, according to Hrishikesh Yedve, assistant vice president of technical and derivatives research at Asit C. Mehta Investment Intermediates Ltd.

"Therefore, the 51,700–51,750 zone will act as immediate support for Bank Nifty in the short term. If the index holds the 51,700 support, it could test levels of 52,800–53,000 in the short term," Yedve said.

The market participants seem a bit watchful ahead of the US Federal Reserve's announcement on interest rates on Wednesday, said Osho Krishan, senior analyst at Angel One Ltd. "Hence, a pragmatic approach with proper risk management is advisable for the traders' fraternity. Additionally, one must refrain from complacency and aggressive bets as volatility is likely to surge in the comparable period," he added.

The GIFT Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, was up 28 or 0.11% at 25,450 as of 6:30 a.m.

The Nifty September futures were up 0.03% to 25,449 at a premium of 31 points, with open interest down by 1.9%.

The Nifty Bank September futures were up by 0.07% to 52,295 at a premium of 107 points, while its open interest was down by 3.66%.

The open interest distribution for the Nifty 50 Sept. 19 expiry series indicated most activity at 26,000 call strikes, with 25,000 put strikes having maximum open interest.

For the Bank Nifty options expiry on Sept. 18, the maximum call open interest was at 53,000 and the maximum put open interest was at 52,000.

Overseas investors turned net buyers of Indian equities on Tuesday after a day of selling. Foreign portfolio investors mopped up stocks worth Rs 482.7 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.

Domestic institutional investors stayed net buyers for the third consecutive session and purchased equities worth Rs 874.2 crore, the NSE data showed.

The Nifty and the Sensex logged gains on Tuesday, led by Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Larsen & Toubro Ltd. Throughout the session, the benchmarks traded near record highs, while market participants shifted their focus to the US Federal Open Market Committee's policy meeting, starting later in the day.

The Nifty settled 34.80 points or 0.14%, higher at 25,418.55 and the Sensex ended 90.88 points or 0.11%, up at 83,079.66. Intraday, the Nifty rose 0.23% to 24,441.65 and the Sensex jumped 0.20% to 83,152.41.

The market breadth was skewed in the favour of the sellers as 2,237 stocks fell, 1,712 rose and 109 remained unchanged on the BSE.

• Infosys: The company has inked a pact with the UK-based Metro Bank for digital transformation.

• Oil Companies: ONGC, Oil India, Vedanta and Reliance Industries will be in focus after the government reduced the windfall tax on domestic crude production to zero.

• Mankind Pharma: The company will consider raising funds via NCDs, commercial papers, debt securities, or other debt securities on Sept. 20.

• SKF India: The company's board decided to initiate a separation of its automotive business with the objective of a separate listing on Nasdaq Stockholm through a Lex Asea distribution to its shareholders.

• REC: The company undertook a non-binding financial commitment to increase renewable loan book over Rs 3 lakh crore by 2030.

• Vakrangee: The company partnered with Star Health Insurance to offer health insurance products across its network.

• Ceigall India: The National Highway Authority of India has designated the company as the "L1 bidder" for the construction of the Northern Ayodhya Bypass.

• Life Insurance Corp.: The insurance provider increased its stake in Biocon to 5.02% from 4.98%.

• DCM Shriram: The company received a BSE observation letter on the amalgamation of Lily Commercial Pvt. with it.

• Torrent Power: The company received a letter of intent from Maharashtra Discom for a 1,500 MW pumped hydro storage project.

• Utkarsh Small Finance Bank: The lender said that the RBI has approved its managing director and chief executive officer's variable remuneration for FY24 and fixed remuneration for FY25 in line with the shareholders’ approval in the AGM.

• Satin Creditcare: The company will consider fundraising via NCDs on a private placement basis on Sept. 20.

• RattanIndia Enterprises: The company's arm, Revolt Motors, launched the electric motorcycle RV1 at an introductory price of Rs 84,990.

• AYM Syntex: The company's board approved preferential issue of shares to promoters for Rs 141 crore.

Most stocks in Asia rose in early trade on Wednesday taking cues from Wall Street as the US Federal Reserve geared up to announce the crucial decision.

The Japanese stocks led the advance as the Bank of Japan is also set to decide on its key interest rate on Friday. S&P ASX 200 was up 0.02% at 8,142, while Nikkei was up 0.74% at 36,476 as of 6:00 a.m. Stock market in Hong Kong will be closed for a public holiday.

The US Central Bank is widely expected to cut interest rates on Wednesday for the first time since March 2020, to engineer a soft landing. While the debate on the size of the rate cut rages on, traders are increasingly pricing in a half-point cut.

Just ahead of the Fed meeting, US retail sales unexpectedly rose in August, pointing to healthy consumer demand that continues to underpin the economy.

Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia and Brazil’s central bank will also decide on their key interest rate on Wednesday. The US policy decision later in the day will be followed by a press conference by Chair Jerome Powell.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 0.03% and 0.20%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 0.04%.

Brent crude was trading 0.03% lower at $73.68 a barrel as of 5:55 a.m. IST. West Texas Intermediate was down 0.11% at 71.11.

• US Dollar Index at 100.8850.

• US 10-year bond yield at 3.64%.

• Brent crude down 0.05% at $73.66 per barrel.

• Bitcoin was down 0.16% at $60,043.43.

• Gold spot was up 0.12% at $2,572.59.

The Indian rupee strengthened against the US dollar on Tuesday as anticipation grew over a likely reduction in interest rates by the FOMC.

The local currency rose 0.15% to settle at Rs 83.76 against the US dollar, according to Bloomberg data. The rupee had closed at Rs 83.88 on Monday.