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

The stock market ended higher on Friday, led by positive global cues. Sensex rose 130 points to 59,462 and Nifty closed 40 points higher at 17,699.

Mid-cap and small-cap indices on BSE gained 37 points and 108 points, respectively. Metal and oil and gas stocks were the top sectoral gainers with their BSE indices zooming 334 points and 476 points, respectively.

Market breadth was positive with 1,809 stocks ending higher against 1,581 stocks falling on BSE, while 153 shares were unchanged.

Market cap of BSE-listed firms rose to Rs 275.08 lakh crore.

Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital markets as they bought shares worth Rs 2,298.08 crore on Thursday, as per exchange data.

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

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities

"Nifty has risen for 7 weeks from the lows of 15,183 (with one negative close in between). It could now make a top for this move in the coming week in the 17,784-18,115 band and later correct. On falls, 17,556 and 17,407 are the supports."

Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities

"On the technical front, Nifty is showing bullish momentum after the recent consolidation and this momentum may continue to 17,800 levels in the short term. On the downside, 17,400 may remain immediate support in Nifty 50. Immediate support and resistance for Bank Nifty are 38,500 and 39,400, respectively."

Amol Athawale, Deputy Vice President - Technical Research, Kotak Securities

"We believe that, due to the temporary overbought situation, we could see range-bound activity in the near future. on the higher side, the immediate hurdle would be 17,900-18,000/(60,000-60,300 on the BSE). On the downside, 17,400-17,300/(58,500-58,200 on BSE) could be the key supports level for the positional traders. For traders, buying on dips and sell on rallies could be the ideal strategy.”

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities

"Despite the proximity to the trend line resistance, the trend remains strong. On the higher end, 17,750-17,800 is likely to remain strong. A decisive breakout above 17,800 may induce a further rally in the market. On the lower end, support is visible at 17,300."