F&O Talk: Mid, smallcaps to continue outperformance as Q1 begins, says Sudeep Shah; outlines Kalyan Jewellers, TCS strategy
The Indian stock market recorded strong gains on Friday, with the Sensex and Nifty rising more than 1% each as in-line earnings from IT heavyweight
The Indian stock market recorded strong gains on Friday, with the Sensex and Nifty rising more than 1% each as in-line earnings from IT heavyweight TCS, positive global cues and other factors boosted investor sentiment.The Sensex jumped 828 points to close at 77,569, while the Nifty 50 advanced over 244 points to end the session at 24,206, extending gains for the second consecutive session. Meanwhile, India VIX, which measures market volatility, fell another 8% to 12.33.Analyst Sudeep Shah, Vice President and Head of Technical & Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, interacted with ETMarkets regarding the outlook for the Nifty and IT, as well as an index strategy for the upcoming week. The following are the edited excerpts from his chat:Nifty started the week on a strong note, but the resumption of the conflict erased those gains. How do the charts look now, and what are the key levels to watch?For the fourth consecutive trading session, the benchmark index Nifty continued to exhibit signs of uncertainty. This indecisiveness is clearly reflected on the weekly chart, where the index has formed a small-bodied candle with shadows on both ends for the fourth straight week. Such a candle formation highlights the ongoing tug-of-war between bulls and bears, making this one of the most prolonged phases of indecision witnessed in recent months. But beneath this prolonged indecision, subtle shifts are beginning to emerge that could determine the market's next meaningful move.In sharp contrast to the benchmark index, the broader market continues to display remarkable resilience. Both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 are significantly outperforming the frontline indices. The Nifty Midcap 100 scaled a fresh all-time high during the week, while the Nifty is still nearly 8% below its lifetime peak. Meanwhile, the Nifty Smallcap 100 is just a stone's throw away from registering a new all-time high. We continue to believe that the broader market is well positioned to sustain its relative outperformance in the near term. Coming back to the benchmark index, the Nifty continues to oscillate around its key moving averages, which have flattened due to the prolonged sideways movement.
Momentum indicators and oscillators are also echoing the same view. Both the daily and weekly RSI remain range-bound, while the daily ADX has slipped to 12.05 and continues to trend lower, indicating the absence of meaningful strength in either direction. Going ahead, the 24,500โ24,550 zone is likely to act as an important hurdle for the index, while the 23,950โ23,900 zone remains a crucial support area. A decisive breakout or breakdown beyond these levels could mark the beginning of the next directional move.The Nifty IT index rallied sharply after TCS' earnings. What do the technicals suggest for the sector going forward?Despite the pullback from the 25,699 low recorded on July 1, the broader technical structure of the Nifty IT Index remains weak. The index continues to trade below its key moving averages on the weekly timeframe, indicating that the primary trend remains under pressure.From a relative strength perspective, the index has moved from the Lagging quadrant to the Improving quadrant on the Relative Rotation Graph (RRG), suggesting that momentum is gradually building. However, it continues to lack relative strength, indicating that sustained outperformance is yet to emerge. Reinforcing the cautious outlook, the MACD remains below both the zero line and the signal line, highlighting the absence of meaningful bullish momentum.Historically, the 26,200โ26,100 zone has acted as a strong demand area. Between June 2022 and April 2023, the index witnessed multiple rebounds from this region, making it a critical long-term support zone.While intermittent pullbacks and short-covering rallies cannot be ruled out, a meaningful trend reversal is unlikely unless the index decisively reclaims the 29,000โ29,100 zone, which also coincides with the previous swing high. Until then, the broader technical bias is expected to remain cautious, with any relief rally likely to face selling pressure at higher levels.What is your technical view on TCS, Infosys and Kalyan Jewellers? What strategy would you recommend for traders?TCS: The stock continues to trade below its key short- and long-term moving averages, indicating that the primary trend remains weak. The RSI is hovering in the 40โ45 zone, reflecting subdued momentum, while the rising ADX suggests that the prevailing bearish trend is strengthening with no clear signs of a reversal yet.