Trade Setup For April 26: Nifty Likely To Continue Upward Trend For New Life High

The NSE Nifty 50 will continue its uptrend, as the index has scored a bearish gap of roughly 22,500 levels and remained above it. The index will likely continue its upward trend and may attempt to break its all-time high, according to Neeraj Sharma, assistant vice president of technical and derivatives research at Asit C Mehta Investment Intermediates Ltd.

The Nifty's short-term support levels are 22,500 and 22,300, with the resistance around 22,780 and 23,000. The Nifty small-cap index has registered a record high, while the midcap index is still 1% away from its previous high, according to Sharma.

In the previous session, Nifty saw swift upward moves, partly driven by a covering of calls. Foreign institutional investors have reduced the long-short ratio on index futures and single-stock futures, according to expiry analysis.

While contract development and manufacturing organisation players disappoint, we should closely monitor the commentary of chemical and aluminium players.

April roll-overs for the Nifty Index futures were significantly lower at 65.12% when compared to the previous month's 69.77% and the three-month average of 71.40%. The most likely reason for the lower positioning could be the anticipation of volatility ahead of the ongoing general elections.

For the Nifty Bank, if it closes above 48,500, then the rally could extend to 49,000–49,500 levels. Technically, the Bank Nifty has surpassed 48,300 and is on the verge of sustaining the 48,500 level, he said. "Short-term support levels for the Bank Nifty are 48,000 and 47,000, with resistance at 49,000 and 49,500."

A positive move in the previous session has paved the way for a new high in the Nifty soon, with strong support at the 22,300 level now, according to Ajit Mishra, senior vice president of research at Religare Broking Ltd. "However, we have been seeing selective participation, so traders should focus more on identifying stocks and continue with a buy-on-dips approach."

The GIFT Nifty was 30 points, or 0.13%, lower at 22,643.00 as of 6:36 a.m.

Overseas investors stayed net sellers on Thursday for the fourth consecutive day.

Foreign portfolio investors sold stocks worth Rs 2,823.3 crore and domestic institutional investors stayed net buyers for the fourth day and mopped up equities worth Rs 6,167.6 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.

India's benchmark stock indices gained for the fifth straight day on Thursday, with the Nifty closing above 22,500, led by nearly 4% gains in PSU banks.

The Nifty ended 0.75%, or 167.95 points, higher at 22,570.35, while the S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.66%, or 486.50 points, to close at 74,339.44.

All sectoral indices, with the exception of Nifty Realty, ended higher, with Nifty PSU Bank rising nearly 4%.

Broader markets ended higher on the BSE, with the S&P BSE Midcap ending with 0.73% gains and the S&P BSE Smallcap closing 0.58% higher on Thursday.

On the BSE, out of the 20 sectors, 18 advanced and two declined. The S&P BSE Services index rose nearly 2% to become the top performer. The S&P BSE Consumer Durables index was the worst performer among peers.

Market breadth was skewed in favour of the buyers as 2,079 stock rose, 1,716 declined and 139 remained unchanged on the BSE.

• InterGlobe Aviation: The company has ordered 30 Airbus A350-900 aircraft and has the purchase rights for an additional 70 Airbus A350 Family aircraft.

• Life Insurance Corp: The board has approved the infusion of approximately Rs 14 crore into Life Insurance Corp. (Lanka), subject to approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

• Tata Steel: The company is to proceed with an investment worth £1.25 billion in the Port Talbot furnace. To commence the closure of existing heavy-end assets in the following months.

• Tech Mahindra (Consolidated, QoQ)

  • Revenue down 1.8% at Rs 12,871 crore vs Rs 13,101 crore (Bloomberg estimate 12,958 crore).

  • EBIT margin at 4.95% vs 5.36% (Bloomberg estimate 11.10%).

  • EBIT down 9% at Rs 638 crore vs Rs 703 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 1,442 crore).

  • Net profit up 27% at Rs 664 crore vs Rs 524 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 744.5 crore).

  • Recommended a final dividend of Rs 28 per share.

• Bajaj Finance (Standalone, YoY)

  • Total income rises 31% to Rs 12,764 crore vs Rs 9,719 crore. (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 9,970 crore).

  • Net profit up 20% at Rs 3,402 crore vs Rs 2,837 crore (Bloomberg estimate: 3,785 crore).

  • Gross NPA stage 3 at 1.05%.

  • Net NPA stage 3 at 0.46%.

  • Recommended dividend of Rs 36 per share.

Stocks in the Asia Pacific region were trading lower on Friday after the US market fell on data that showed a sharp U.S. economic slowdown and stubborn inflation. The Wall Street, however, recovered as technology companies surged in late trading as stellar results from Microsoft Corp. and Google's parent, Alphabet Inc., fuelled confidence. Investors will also wait for the Bank of Japan's policy outcomes that is scheduled for Friday.

The Nikkei 225 was trading 48.15 points or 0.13% lower at 37,580.33, and the S&P ASX 200 was trading 93.70 points or 1.22% down at 7,589.30. The Kospi index was trading 24.42 points or 0.93% higher at 2,653.04 as of 06:35 a.m.

The Wall Street was rattled by data that showed exactly what stock traders did not want to hear: a significant slowdown in the world's largest economy and persistent inflation pressures, Bloomberg said. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.46% and 0.64% respectively as of Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.98%.

The Brent crude was trading 0.36% higher at $89.32 a barrel. Gold fell 0.14% to $2,329.14 an ounce.

The Indian rupee closed weaker against the dollar on Thursday ahead of the release of crucial data from the US, including the advance GDP estimates for January–March.

The local currency depreciated three paise to close at Rs 83.35 against the greenback.