F&O Manual | Nifty consolidates in a narrow range, takes support at 18,180

Among individual stocks, PVR Inox continued to see short additions as the company’s commentary following Q4 numbers has disappointed the street.

The market continued to be under pressure for another day on May 17 amid rush for booking profits. Traders pointed out that the headline indices are consolidating in a narrow zone.

As of 11am, the Nifty 50 index declined 71 points or 0.39 percent to 18,215.20, and Bank Nifty slipped 0.18 percent to 43,823. The broader market indices performed better with Nifty Smallcap up about 0.4 percent.

Rahul Ghose, Founder and CEO of Hedged, an algorithm-powered advisory platform, said that the  trend for the next two weeks for the Index is sideways with a bullish bias.

“The derivative data indicates that the short straddle for this monthly expiry is at the 18,300 level with the highest number of Call writers at the 18,500 strike, which further corroborates this hypothesis. Momentum indicators are also showing signs of consolidation which is a very healthy sign for an ongoing rally. Expect the Nifty to consolidate between 18,180 and 18,400 before it starts its next leg on the upside,” he said.

Bars reflect change in OI during the day. Red bars show call option OI and green put option OI.

On the weekly options front, 18,300 saw heavy addition of Calls, which will now act as immediate resistance along with 18,250 that also saw shorts being created. Some long additions were seen at the 18,200 strike.

Caution is likely to prevail further and one may see extended profit-booking in next few sessions, as investors would focus on global mood, said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities.

He added that technically Nifty’s make-or-break support is seen at the 18,181 mark, while the index could face major hurdles at 18,473 mark.

Among individual stocks, PVR Inox continued to see short additions as the company’s commentary following Q4 numbers has disappointed the street. LIC Housing Finance, Oberoi Realty and Vodafone Idea were others that saw bearish pressure.

Exide Industries and Escorts were among the names that saw bulls accumulating positions.

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