Markets stare at a flat open: Key levels to watch today as Nifty tops 23,000

All sectoral indices ended in the green.

Indian benchmark indices are likely to open the session on March 21 on a flattish note after four straight of gains, driven by mixed cues from global markets. Wall Street indices succumbed to profit booking and reversed early gains to close in the red overnight, while Asian markets remained wobbly in initial trade today.

While the GIFT Nifty also hints at a rather muted start for the market, data still shows the Nifty 50 on path to cross the 23,200-mark.

As for the last session, the Indian equity market extended its winning streak for the fourth consecutive day amid positive global cues after the US Federal Reserve maintained its benchmark interest rate and reaffirmed its outlook for two more rate cuts later this year.

By the closing bell, the Sensex surged 899.01 points or 1.19 percent to settle at 76,348.06, while the Nifty advanced 283.05 points or 1.24 percent to close at 23,190.65.

"The dovish stance of the US Federal Reserve, which kept interest rates unchanged, provided relief to global markets and set the stage for a strong opening in the domestic market. Initially, the Nifty traded within a narrow range, but robust buying across sectors, coupled with short covering on the weekly expiry day, fueled further upside," said Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking.

All the sectoral indices ended the session in the green with metal, media, IT, FMCG, auto, consumer durables, realty, telecom up 1 percent each.

Here are the key levels to watch out for today

Nifty closed above its 50 day- exponential moving average for the first time after Feb 5. With this, the index has jumped on to the continuation of a short-term uptrend and is now marching towards the next resistance of 200 day-EMA, placed near 23,400 levels, said Nandish Shah - Deputy Vice President, HDFC Securities. On the downside, support for the Nifty has also shifted higher in the band of 22,950-23,000.

Bank Nifty index managed to hold o to key support levels at 49,650 in the previous session and successfully crossed the 50,000-resistance level intraday, forming a green candle. "The next major resistance for the index is placed near 50,640, which coincides with its previous swing high. As long as the sectoral remains above 49,650, the bullish momentum is expected to continue, said Hrishikesh Yedve, AVP Technical and Derivatives Research at Asit C. Mehta Investment Interrmediates. Yedve further advises traders to adopt a 'buy on dips' approach to capitalise on short-term opportunities.

The Nifty Put-Call Ratio (PCR), a key indicator of market sentiment, declined to 1.16 on 20 March from 1.2 in the previous session. A rising PCR above 0.7 or exceeding 1 typically signals strengthening bullish sentiment, as traders sell more Put options than Call options. Conversely, if the ratio falls below 0.7 or moves towards 0.5, it suggests higher selling in Calls than Puts, indicating a shift towards bearish sentiment.

The fear-gauge India VIX, declined by 5.23 percent to 12.60, the lowest closing level since October 1, 2024, which is more favourable for bulls.