Sensex, Nifty scale fresh all-time highs; can bulls continue climbing higher?

Bulls continue to remain in control on Dalal Street as benchmark indices rebounded from initial weakness to scale fresh all-time highs on Monday. S&P BSE Sensex reached 55,680 but closed lower at 55,582, gaining 0.26%. NSE Nifty 50 touched a record high of 16,589 but closed at 16,563, up 0.21%. Bank Nifty closed with losses, just shy of 36,100 mark. Tata Steel surged 3.96% to end as the top Sensex gainer, followed by Bajaj Finance, M&M, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries, and HDFC. Maruti Suzuki India fell 2.43% to close as the worst-performing Sensex constituent followed by Bajaj Auto, Power Grid, Ultratech Cement, and State Bank of India. Broader markets ended mixed with midcap and smallcap indices closing with losses. India VIX ended 3.59% higher. 

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities –

“Nifty opened flat on Aug 16 and rose gradually to make an intra day high at 1450Hrs. In the process it made another all time high and is leading the Asian markets for the day. Asian markets and European markets were subdued  as weak Chinese economic data pointed to a Covid-induced slowdown while geopolitical turmoil prompted caution. Advance decline ratio continued to be weak. This along with lower-than-recent-average volumes on Aug 16 suggests that action is concentrated in a few scrips. Nifty could continue its gradual grind upwards, while the broader market continues to see rotational profit booking.”

Shrikant Chouhan, Executive Vice President, Equity Technical Research, Kotak Securities –

“Despite weak global market conditions, Indian markets maintained bullish momentum amid sharp intraday volatility. On daily charts, benchmark index Nifty has formed a breakout continuation formation. The texture of the chart suggests the 16450-16400 level would act as a key support level for the day traders. As long as the index is trading above the same, the uptrend texture is likely to continue up to 16600-16640 levels. In the near future, the market may consolidate near the 16600 resistance levels.”

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services –

“The domestic market failed to maintain its momentum and traded on a flat note throughout the day as selling was witnessed in the key sectors amidst weakness in global markets. India’s WPI inflation eased for the second consecutive month to 11.16% in July against 12.07% in June as food and crude prices softened. Metals outshined other indices backed by better quarterly earnings. Due to weaker-than-expected Chinese economic data and surge in virus outbreaks, global indices traded under pressure.”

Rohit Singre, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities –

“Index started a week on a positive note and closed a day at 16563 with minimal gains forming a small bullish candle on the daily chart. Index continued to march towards northward which suggest traders can use the dip to make fresh longs near good support zone and one can avoid making longs on fresh highs as risk rewards will not be in favors, good support zone for nifty is coming near 16500-16440 zone and resistance is coming near 16600-1650 zone.”

Mohit Nigam, Head – PMS, Hem Securities –  

“Markets closed the day with slight gains of about 0.25% with gains from the metal stocks. Tata Steel Ltd. stayed top gainer in the Nifty50. The four new listings didn’t list with the strong gains as the other listings in the past few months.  The listings of Devyani, Krsnaa, Windlass ended the day with slight losses despite good investor presentations. Reliance Industries and Saudi Aramco’s deal for the 20% stake in the Oil to Chemical business is getting further with the $25 bn investment. On the relief side WPI inflation has eased for the second straight month even as the prices of manufactured products rose. Among the precious metals Gold has slipped as the global economy is recovering after the pandemic. The market is moving in the consolidation zone and any correction is a good opportunity to invest in the quality stocks. The Nifty50 is seen with the support of 16,200 and resistance of 16,700 for the near term.”

Palak Kothari, Research Associate, Choice Broking –

“Technically, the Index has been trading higher high, higher low formation from the last few days which suggest strength for upside movement. Furthermore, the Index has been trading with a positive crossover of 21*50 HMA, which points out potential for upward direction. Momentum Indicator MACD & RSI are also showing positive crossover on daily time frames which further adds strength in the index. At present, the nifty index has immediate resistance at 16600 levels while downside support shifted up to 16350 levels.”