Technical View: Nifty begins January series strongly; 26,200 key for fresh highs, Bank Nifty eyes 60,000 after trendline breakout

Nifty outlook for January 1

• Weekly options data suggested that 26,000 is expected to be a crucial support for the Nifty 50, with resistance at the 26,400–26,500 levels.

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The Nifty 50 bulls made a strong comeback and snapped a four-day losing streak on December 31, marking a strong start to the January series. The index negated the lower high–lower low formation of the previous three sessions and climbed decisively above short-term moving averages. Improving momentum indicators and a trendline breakout in Bank Nifty provided further confidence to Nifty 50 bulls on the final day of the year 2025 and raised hopes for a healthy start to the new year 2026.

According to experts, the Nifty 50 is expected to march toward a record high of 26,326, followed by 26,500 in the upcoming sessions, provided it closes and sustains above the hurdle of 26,200, a level above which it has failed to sustain on many occasions in the past. Henceforth, 25,880, which created a higher bottom in the previous session, is expected to act as support, as a fall below this level could negate the larger-degree higher high–higher low structure.

The Nifty 50 opened higher and maintained its upward journey as the session progressed. It touched an intraday high of 26,188 before closing at 26,130, up 191 points or 0.74 percent. The index formed a bullish candle with a minor upper shadow on the daily timeframe, following a Doji pattern formation seen in the previous session, indicating the formation of a higher-bottom reversal pattern, which is positive.

According to Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, the underlying trend of Nifty remains positive.

The RSI jumped to 56.07 with a positive crossover, while the MACD is on the verge of a bullish breakout, with weakness fading in the histogram.

“One may expect Nifty to advance towards the crucial overhead resistance of around 26,250–26,350 levels in the short term before consolidating again at the hurdle. Immediate support is placed at 26,000,” Nagaraj said.

Weekly options data suggested that 26,000 is expected to be a crucial support for the Nifty 50, with resistance at the 26,400–26,500 levels.

The maximum Call open interest was placed at the 26,400 strike, followed by the 26,500 and 26,200 strikes, with the maximum Call writing at the 26,400, 26,600 and 26,500 strikes. Meanwhile, the 26,000 strike holds the maximum Put open interest, followed by the 26,100 and 25,900 strikes, with the maximum Put writing at the 26,000, 26,100 and 26,050 strikes.

Bank Nifty

The Bank Nifty extended its uptrend for another session, rising 411 points, or 0.7 percent, to 59,582. The banking index decisively surpassed the midline of the Bollinger Bands and moved towards the upper Bollinger Bands with a long bullish candle formation, especially after giving a falling trendline breakout, which indicated improving sentiment.

The RSI has entered a bullish crossover and is placed near 60, reflecting a pickup in momentum. The Stochastic RSI sustained a positive crossover. Histogram weakness faded further, though the MACD remained slightly below its reference line.

For further upside, the banking index needs to sustain above its 20-day SMA (the midline of the Bollinger Bands) to confirm strength. “The follow-up session will be crucial. Support is placed at 59,200, with resistance at 59,750, while positional support lies at the 59,000 level,” said Vatsal Bhuva, Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.

Meanwhile, India VIX remained subdued as it sustained below key moving averages and closed at 9.47, down 2.09 percent, favouring the bulls.