Nifty 50, Sensex today: What to expect from Indian stock market in trade on March 20 after US Fed policy

The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are likely to extend gains on Thursday and open higher, tracking positive global market cues after the US Federal Reserve announced its monetary policy.

The trends on Gift Nifty also indicate a gap-up start for the Indian benchmark index. The Gift Nifty was trading around 23,065 level, a premium of nearly 93 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close.

On Wednesday, the domestic equity market ended higher, with the benchmark Nifty 50 closing above 22,900 level.

The Sensex gained 147.79 points, or 0.20%, to close at 75,449.05, while the Nifty 50 settled 73.30 points, or 0.32%, higher at 22,907.60.

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

Sensex Prediction

Sensex continued its positive momentum on Wednesday and ended 148 points, or 0.20%, higher at 75,449.

“Technically, after a promising uptrend rally, Sensex is witnessing range-bound intraday activity at higher levels. It also formed a small bullish candle on daily charts, indicating indecisiveness between the bulls and the bears. We are of the view that the short-term texture of the market is still on the positive side, but due to temporary overbought conditions, we could see range-bound activity in the near future,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities.

For day traders, he said that the key support zones for Sensex are 75,200 - 75,000, while 78,800 - 76,000 could act as crucial resistance areas for the bulls. A fall below 75,000 would make the uptrend vulnerable.

Nifty 50 Prediction

Nifty 50 continued with follow-through upside momentum on March 19 and closed the day higher by 73 points.

“A small positive candle was formed on the daily chart which indicates a breather type market movement after a stellar performance in the previous session. Though, Nifty 50 showed minor upmove on Wednesday, the overall market breadth was very strong with outperformance seen in broad market indices,” said Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities.

According to him, Nifty 50 is currently nearing a crucial overhead resistance of around 23,000 - 23,100 levels (down sloping trend line connected from the highs of Sept and Dec 24).

“This is going to be an important hurdle for the market and there is a possibility of some more consolidation or minor dip from the highs in the next 1-2 sessions. Immediate support is placed around 22,800 - 22,750 levels,” Shetti said.

Hrishikesh Yedve, AVP Technical and Derivatives Research at Asit C. Mehta Investment Interrmediates Ltd. highlighted that the Nifty 50 found support around 22,800 and formed a small green candle on daily scale, indicating strength.

“The recent breakout point of 22,800 will provide immediate support for the index followed by 22,700. However, trend line resistance and 50-Days Exponential Moving Average (EMA) are located around 23,000 levels, which will serve as a short-term barrier. Considering the overall positive momentum, traders are advised to adopt a ‘buy on dips’ strategy in the short term,” said Hrishikesh Yedve.

A note by Bajaj Broking Research said that on the daily chart, Nifty 50 has formed a small bull candle with shadows in either direction signaling consolidation with positive bias after Tuesday’s strong up move.

“Nifty 50, on expected lines, extended up move and is seen heading towards 23,000 - 23,200 levels in the coming sessions. Immediate support is placed at 22,500 - 22,600 levels being the confluence of 20 days EMA and Tuesday bullish gap area. Immediate resistance is placed at 23,000 - 23,200 being the confluence of the 50-day EMA and the trendline resistance joining last 6 months highs,” said Bajaj Broking Research.

It believes the overall market structure is positive and expects the Nifty 50 index to move above the same and head towards 23,500 levels in the coming weeks.

According to VLA Ambala, Co-Founder of Stock Market Today, market sentiment is becoming evident as oversold stocks with strong order books and solid financials rapidly recover.

“Hence, I believe this is the right time for those who missed out on previous rallies to accumulate quality stocks. According to analysis, Nifty 50 can find support near 22,860 and 22,800 and face resistance near 23,040 and 23,170,” Ambala said.

Bank Nifty Prediction

Bank Nifty index gained 388.10 points, or 0.79%, to close at 49,702.60, extending rally for the fifth session in a row as it formed a second consecutive strong bull candle with a higher high and higher low, highlighting strength and extension of the up move.

“The Bank Nifty index surpassed the hurdle of 49,650 and formed a big bullish candle on the daily chart, suggesting strength. If the index stays above 49,650, the upward momentum is likely to continue. On the upside, the psychological level of 50,000 will act as a key hurdle. Short term traders are advised to adopt a ‘buy on dips’ strategy in Bank Nifty,” said Hrishikesh Yedve.

Meanwhile, Bajaj Broking Research expects the Bank Nifty index to maintain positive bias and head towards 50,100 and 50,600 levels in the coming sessions.

“While immediate support is placed at 48,800 - 49,000 levels being the confluence of key retracement of current up move and 20 days EMA. The index in the last 9 weeks has been consolidating in the broad range of 47,700 - 50,600. Buying demand has recently emerged from the lower band of the range and we expect the index to head towards the upper band of the range placed at 50,600,” said Bajaj Broking Research.

It believes a breakout above the upper band will signal a major reversal of trend.

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.