Technical View: October high remains crucial for bulls to drive Nifty toward 26,300, Bank Nifty closes above 59,000 for first time

Nifty outlook for November 20

The Nifty 50 rebounded sharply after a day’s pause, climbing above the psychological 26,000 mark with a gain of more than half a percent on November 19, making a strong start to the monthly F&O expiry week. The index inched closer to the October high of 26,100 and appears to be progressing toward another attempt to reclaim this level, which experts believe is possible given the favourable technical and momentum indicators.

According to analysts, if the index manages to reclaim and sustain above 26,100, the 26,300 level (near the record high) will be the next key level to watch on the upside. Until then, rangebound movement is expected to continue, with support seen at 25,900–25,800.

The Nifty 50 gained strength after an initial hour of volatility and moved higher as the day progressed. The index touched an intraday high of 26,075 in late trade before closing at 26,053, up 143 points (0.55 percent), forming a bullish candle with a minor lower shadow on the daily charts—indicating a positive bias with buying interest at lower levels.

This pattern also suggests that the Nifty is on the verge of a sharp breakout above the crucial 26,100 hurdle. Wednesday’s low of 25,856 can now be considered a new higher bottom on the daily chart, said Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities.

The index closed above the high of the previous day’s candle and remained comfortably above all key moving averages, with short- and medium-term moving averages trending upward. The MACD showed a bullish crossover with the histogram climbing above the zero line, while the RSI at 64.21 and the Stochastic RSI maintained a positive crossover.

According to Nagaraj, a sustained upside from here could open the next target zone of around 26,300–26,400 in the near term. Immediate support is placed at the 25,850 level, he added.

Monthly options data suggested that the 26,000 level is expected to be a crucial zone for determining further direction in the Nifty 50.

The maximum Call open interest was seen at the 26,000 strike, followed by the 26,500 and 26,200 strikes. The maximum Call writing occurred at the 26,500, 26,300, and 26,050 strikes. On the Put side, the 26,000 strike holds the maximum open interest, followed by the 25,900 and 25,500 strikes, with maximum Put writing at the 25,900, 25,800, and 26,000 strikes.

Bank Nifty

Along with Nifty IT, the Bank Nifty also provided strong support to the Nifty 50. The banking index recorded a new closing high of 59,216, up 317 points (0.54 percent), after a day of minor profit booking, and maintained a higher-high, higher-low formation. The index sustained above all key moving averages, with short- and medium-term moving averages trending upward.

The RSI at 72.88 and the Stochastic RSI continued to signal bullish momentum, while the MACD maintained its positive crossover with a strengthening histogram.

The ratio line on the Bank Nifty/Nifty chart has also been moving upward in a higher-high, higher-low structure, with the 20-day EMA (58,100) acting as a dynamic support zone throughout this period—a sign of strong relative strength in favour of Bank Nifty.

Interestingly, the ratio line has now reached levels last seen in late July 2025—the period since when Bank Nifty had started to underperform the Nifty. The return to these levels underscores the strong recovery in Bank Nifty, supported by both PSU and private banks, said Sudeep Shah, Head – Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities.

According to him, the 59,400–59,500 zone is expected to act as crucial resistance. A sustained move above 59,500 could drive the index toward 60,000.

On the downside, the 58,600–58,700 zone is expected to act as a strong support area for Bank Nifty, he added.

Meanwhile, India VIX—the fear index—remained well below the 13 mark, falling 1.01 percent to 11.97, making the trend favourable for the bulls.

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