Trade Setup for November 20: Nifty bulls reclaim 26,000 and set sights for recent swing high

After facing resistance on Tuesday, the Nifty staged a strong comeback on Wednesday. The index bounced sharply from the day's lows and closed 142 points higher.

After a weak start, buying interest picked up almost immediately, and the momentum held through the session, taking the Nifty to the day's high.

The index ended at 26,053, up 143 points, led by optimism around the ongoing India-US trade deal talks.

Among Nifty stocks, Max Healthcare, and IT majors HCL Tech and Infosys led the gainers. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Coal India, and Maruti came under pressure.

Sectorally, it was a largely positive day, with IT, PSU Banks and Bank Nifty leading the advance. Only Oil and Gas, Realty and Media ended lower.

The broader market showed a mixed picture. The Nifty Midcap 100 edged up 0.21%, while the Smallcap 100 fell 0.43%.

Globally, focus now shifts to UK and European CPI data later today and key US jobs numbers tomorrow. Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal expects a gradual up-move to continue, but with a cautious undertone as markets track global macro events and await Phase 1 of the India-US trade deal.

Technically, analysts say the bulls have regained control. Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities sees room for an upside towards 26,300-26,400 in the near term. Rupak De of LKP Securities expects a move toward 26,200-26,350, with support at 25,850.

Nandish Shah of HDFC Securities said the index is now testing a critical resistance at 26,100. A clean breakout above this zone could open the door to fresh all time highs above 26,277. On the downside, today’s low of 25,856 is immediate support, followed by 24,740.

Bank Nifty also reversed its early weakness. After hitting an intraday low of 58,689, the index rallied to close at 59,216, up 0.54%, even marking a new high during the session. It broke past the 59,000-59,100 resistance band, a zone that held firm over the last two sessions.

According to Sudeep Shah of SBI Securities, this breakout signals strong buying interest and renewed bullish conviction. Key resistance now sits at 59,400-59,500, and a sustained move above 59,500 could push the index towards 60,000. On the downside, support is seen at 58,600-58,700.