Bulls vs Bears: Here's what to expect on Dalal Street today

Benchmark indices closed lower in late sell-off on Friday amid positive global cues. Sensex fell 49 points to 55,769 and Nifty ended 43 points lower at 16,584.

UltraTech Cement, Maruti, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank and M&M were the top Sensex losers, falling up to 5.49 per cent. Reliance Industries, Infosys, Larsen & Toubro, HCL Technologies, Sun Pharma, Wipro, TCS and Hindustan Unilever Limited were the top Sensex gainers, rising up to 2.02 per cent. Market cap of BSE-listed firms fell to Rs 257 lakh crore on Friday against Rs 259.04 lakh crore on Thursday.

Market breadth was negative with 1,367 shares ending higher against 1,969 stocks falling on BSE. 130 shares were unchanged.

BSE mid cap and small cap indices fell 336 points and lost 310 points, respectively.

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Here's a look at what experts said about the direction the market is likely to take today.

Amol Athawale, Deputy Vice President - Technical Research, Kotak Securities said," Although short term texture of the market is still into the bullish side, on weekly charts the Nifty has formed a Hammer candlestick formation which is indicating further weakness from the current levels. On the higher side, the 50-day SMA or 16,850 would act as a key resistance level and above the same the index could hit the level of 16,950-17,000. Similarly, on the lower side, 16,450 would be the sacrosanct support zone. Below the same, the chances of hitting 16,350-16,300 appear bright.”

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Yesha Shah, Head of Equity Research, Samco Securities said, "In accordance with global benchmark indices, Nifty is expected to give an immediate resistance breakout, indicating continuance of the bullish short-term trend. However, there is no substantial proof that the corrective phase has concluded. Given this, we recommend that traders retain a mildly bullish to cautious perspective going ahead and use a stock-specific buy-on-dips strategy. Nifty's next immediate resistance level is currently set at 17,400."

Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research  Analyst, HDFC Securities said, "Nifty on the weekly chart formed a small bull candle with upper shadow. This pattern signals presence of crucial resistance at the highs. The near-term uptrend status of Nifty remains intact and there is no sign of any reversal yet from the highs. Further weakness from here could find strong support around 16400-16350 levels and the Nifty could show upside bounce from the lower levels. Sustainable upmove could only resume above the hurdle of 16800 levels."

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