Nifty forms a long bear candle. What traders should do on Thursday

After making higher highs for the last three trading sessions, Nifty on Wednesday formed a long bear candle, indicating the inability of bulls to sustain the highs. “Now, it has to hold above 18,050-18,088 zones, for an up move towards 18,350 then 18,500 zones, whereas supports are placed at 18,050 and 17,950 zones,” said Chandan Taparia of Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Options data suggests a broader trading range between 17,800-18,500 zones while an immediate trading range between 17,900-18,400 zones.

Chart readers said positive patterns like higher tops and bottoms continued on the daily time frame chart, and Wednesday's swing high of 18,296 could be considered as a new higher top of the sequence.

What should traders do? Here’s what analysts said:

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities
On the higher end, the headline index found resistance around 18,300. The overall trend is expected to remain volatile as long as it remains below 18,300. A decisive move above 18,300 may induce a rally towards 18,600. However, failure to move beyond 18,300 may trigger further profit-taking. On the lower end, support is pegged at 18,000, below which the index may extend its loss to 17,700.

Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking
The recent market move indicates caution among the participants amid mixed signals from the global front. However, rotational buying across sectors is helping the index to maintain a positive tone. Amid all this, we feel the prudent approach is to look for stock-specific opportunities for trading until Nifty regains momentum.

Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities
There is a possibility of further consolidation or minor downward correction in the next 1-2 sessions before showing an upside bounce again from the lows. Immediate support is placed at 17,950 levels.

Gaurav Ratnaparkhi, Head of Technical Research, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas
For the last couple of sessions, Nifty has been attempting to cross the level of 18,200. However, it is unable to sustain itself in the higher territory. The recent higher high in the index on the daily chart is not accompanied by a higher high in the daily and the hourly momentum indicators. This is a sign of exhaustion in momentum on the upside. Nifty is currently trading near the key hourly moving averages, which are near 18,100. If that is breached, the index can slide towards 18,000, which will be the make-or-break level for the index from a short-term perspective.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)