Nifty in no hurry to cross the 9,000 mark: Analysts

Markets gain ground on Thursday, after consolidating

The markets gained ground on Thursday, after consolidating for the past few sessions, with the S&P Sensex and the CNX Nifty hitting intra-day highs of 27,037 and 8,190, respectively. The indices, however, trimmed the gains to end at 27,010 and 8,179, up one per cent each over their previous closes.

The move was in line with most Asian markets.

The Nikkei, Hang Seng, and Jakarta Composite indices gained 0.5 to two per cent. The Shanghai Composite rose 2.3 per cent to 3,338, while the KOSPI gained 1.2 per cent after the Bank of Korea kept key rates unchanged.

In India, interest rate-sensitive stocks logged gains, with the CNX Auto, the CNX Realty, and Bank Nifty indices rallying 0.8 to 2.3 per cent.

<b>Outlook</b>

Will the markets be able to sustain the rise? And, what Nifty levels should you eye?

Despite the rise, analysts do not see a runaway rally from here.

They say the Nifty doesn’t seem in a hurry to breach its previous high. At best, they expect range-bound movement through the next few weeks.

Siddarth Bhamre, head of research, equity derivatives and technical, Angel Broking, says: “Compared to the rally in other Asian markets on Thursday, the Indian benchmarks have underperformed.

“Positionally, we were seeing foreign institutional investors (FIIs) going long on index futures, but buying in the cash segment wasn’t too high.

“However, in the past two sessions, we have seen unwinding in the index long positions to the tune of around Rs 1,000 crore and there is no cash-based buying yet. I don’t think FIIs are back in action and do not expect the markets to see a runaway rally from here.

“We are in a very dynamic market right now, with many variables, both domestic and global, affecting the sentiment. Overall, the market remains under pressure. The earnings season has started and the top three names — Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, and Hindustan Unilever Limited — have not impressed the Street.

“I don’t see why FIIs should come back immediately and the markets rally. Nifty (spot) faces resistance at 8,225 and 8,280 levels. The immediate support, according to daily charts, is 8,020 and 8,050. For me, liquidity is far more important than levels at this stage,” he adds.

Chandan Taparia, derivatives analyst, equity research, Anand Rathi, says the range-bound movement in the markets has led to lower volatility, which indicates buying at lower levels.

“Despite that, the upside remains capped at 8,300 (Nifty spot). We expect the market to hold above 8,100 levels and consolidate, at least for the next few days. Nifty (spot) has medium-term support in the 8,050-8,080 band.

“The overall trend will remain positive till the Nifty trades above this level. Above 8,330 (spot), we could see an up-move till 8,500-8,650 levels,” he adds.