The Indian benchmark indices, that faced sell-off during the final hour of yesterday’s session, opened today on a flat note. The Nifty 50 is currently around 14,880 where the Sensex is at around 49,780 and both the indices are largely unchanged from yesterday’s closing level. Asian markets look mixed as the Nikkei 225 is up by 0.2 per cent whereas the Hang Seng is down by 1.2 per cent.

As the Nifty 50 index is flat for the day so far, the advance-decline ratio seems to be almost equally split as it currently stands at 24-26. Also, there seems to be no considerable change in volatility as indicated by India VIX, the volatility index. It is down by nearly 1 per cent to 20.10.

Although the benchmark indices are flat, the mid- and small-cap indices are performing better for the day so far. They have gained between 0.25 per cent to 0.9 per cent. Among the sectoral indices, the Nifty PSU bank index is the top performer, up by 3.2 per cent followed by the Nifty pharma index, up by 2.6 per cent. On the other hand, the Nifty metal has lost 0.75 per cent and this remains the top loser today.

Also read: Nifty Call: Go long above 15,025 levels with a fixed stop-loss

Futures: The April futures contract began the session with a minor gap-down as it opened at 14,901 as against yesterday close of 14,924. There was an initial decline and as a result, the contract marked a low of 14,852. But then it recovered, and it rallied to register an intraday high of 14,967 before moderating slightly to the current level of 14,910.

Importantly, the futures has a strong resistance band between 14,970 and 15,020 which has been restricting the upside for the past three weeks. So, it is imperative that the contract breaches this price band in order to establish a fresh uptrend. So, no fresh long positions until the contract rallies above 15,020. At the other end, the contract has a key support at 14,875 which has been stopping the bears from taking control over it. Immediately below this level is another important support of 14,850.

So, considering the above factors, traders are recommended not to initiate fresh positions until at least either of 14,875 or 14,970 is breached decisively. Take fresh positions along the direction of the break of the range of 14,875 and 14,970.

  • Strategy: Tread with caution
  • Supports: 14,875 and 14,850
  • Resistances: 14,970 and 15,020