Sensex extends rally to fourth day straight, tops 58100, Nifty may soon test 17467-17651 levels

Sensex and Nifty opened in the green on Monday — the first trading session of the month — and after battling initial volatility remained comfortably in the control of bulls for the entire day. On closing, S&P BSE Sensex zoomed 545 points or 0.95% to end at 58,115, while the NSE Nifty 50 index settled at 17,340, up 1.06%. M&M was the top gainer on Sensex, up 6.29%, followed by Power Grid, NTPC, and Bharti Airtel. Sun Pharma was the top laggard, down 2.81%, accompanied by HUL, IndusInd Bank, and Nestle India. India VIX soared higher and closed above 17 levels.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities –

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities –

“The uptrend continues in the market as the bulls’ invasion of the 17000-17500 zone continues. The trend is likely to remain positive as long as the benchmark index sustains above 200 DMA, placed at 17025. Over the near term 17000 is likely to act as crucial support; whereas on the higher end, 17500 may act as a crucial resistance. Again, above 17500, the Nifty may move up towards 18000.”

Om Mehra, Technical Associate, Choice Broking –

“The trend may still remain bullish for the short term but simultaneously profit booking from higher levels is expected as well. Technically, Sustaining above 17200 levels on Nifty could result in acceleration of the uptrend, while 17020 needs to be protected on the downside. On the other hand, Bank nifty has support at 37400 levels while resistance at 38500 levels. OI Data indicates, on the call side the highest OI witnessed at 17500 followed by 17600 strike prices while on the put side, the highest OI was at 17200 followed by 17000 strike price. Increasing positions in small caps and focusing on technology companies in the space would be advisable for coming weeks.”

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services–

“FPIs turning net buyers is the major factor driving the uptick in the domestic market. Record low unemployment rate in the Eurozone and fall in crude oil prices, increased optimism globally. Oil prices took a hit as the deteriorating demand outlook outweighed cues of ongoing supply tightness. Auto stocks were in focus post the release of positive auto sales numbers.”

Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking –

“Markets started the week on a positive note, in continuation to last week’s trend and ended with gains of nearly one percent. This week markets will continue to take cues from on-going earnings as well as global peers. Besides, RBI monetary policy outcome scheduled on 5th August will be crucial for market participants. We would advise investor’s to focus on maintaining a stock specific approach.”