SGX Nifty up, Nifty support, Bank Nifty technicals, stocks under F&O ban; key things to watch out today

On the weekly F&O expiry day, BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 were set to open in the positive territory. Amid heightened volatility, benchmark indices have been ending in the red for the last two days. Analysts say that the tepid start to the earnings season has led to profit-taking and global cues have also not been very encouraging. “Going ahead, we expect choppiness to continue due to the weekly expiry and the scheduled earnings of some of the index majors so it’s prudent to restrict leveraged positions for the time being and let the markets stabilize,” Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking, said. Nifty crucial support now lies at 18150-18200.

SGX Nifty in green: Nifty futures were trading 39 points or 0.21 per cent up at 18356 on Singaporean Exchange, indicating a gap-up start for BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 on Thursday.

FII, DII data: On Wednesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,843.09 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 1,680.73 crore in the Indian stock market.

Nifty technical view: Further selling in the next couple of sessions may be witnessed but first sign of weakness would be considered only if Nifty slides below 18,170 -18,160. For day traders 18,550-18,600 levels would be the immediate hurdle. If the market is able to sustain above the 18,150-level, the index can scale higher levels of 18,600-18750. It has also taken support of EMA (exponential moving average) 9 lines at around 18171, Aprajita Saxena, Research Analyst, Trustline Securities, told Financial Express Online.

Bank Nifty support, resistance: Banking Index managed to sustain above 39250 which suggests that 39250 -39200 will be an important support zone to stay positive in the short term. If Nifty Bank is unable to sustain the level of 39150-39200 it can witness the correction would continue to the level of 38950-38780. Nifty Bank has faced resistance at a very important level of 40,000. Technical indicators suggest a volatile movement in the market, Saxena said.

Global markets: Asian stock markets were trading mixed in early trade on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.28% while the Topix index dipped 0.21%. South Korea’s Kospi edged 0.08% lower. In overnight trade on Wall Street, the S&P 500 and the Dow ended higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 152.03 points, or 0.43%, to 35,609.34, the S&P 500 gained 16.56 points, or 0.37%, to 4,536.19 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 7.41 points, or 0.05%, to 15,121.68.

Stocks under F&O ban today: 10 stocks such as Amara Raja Batteries, Escorts, Vodafone Idea, IRCTC, L&T Finance Holdings, NALCO, Punjab National Bank, SAIL, Sun TV Network and Tata Power – were under the F&O ban for 21 October 2021. If the open interest of any stock crosses 95% of the MWPL (market-wide positions limits), all F&O contracts of that stock enter a ban period.