Trade Setup on January 14: Volatile Nifty heads into another expiry with 25,700 being a key options support

The Indian equity market ended largely in the red on Tuesday, though it managed to recover sharply from intraday lows. The Nifty 50 held above the crucial 25,700 mark despite sustained selling pressure through most of the session.

After a brief pullback earlier, the index resumed its downward trend and slipped 57 points to close at 25,732. The Nifty had opened 107 points higher and briefly tested its 50-day exponential moving average resistance near 25,891 before reversing course.

Bears remained in control for the better part of the session, pushing the index down to an intraday low of 25,603. However, a late rebound of more than 150 points in the final hour helped limit losses and pull the index off the day's lows.

In the Nifty basket, ONGC, Eternal, and ICICI Bank led gains, while Trent, Larsen & Toubro, and Dr Reddy's witnessed selling pressure to end as top losers.

Sectoral performance was mixed bag. While PSU Banks, Media, and IT sectors showed strength, Consumer Durables, Realty, and Pharma succumbed to profit-taking.

The Nifty Midcap 100 index slipped 0.20%, but the the Smallcap 100 index defied the trend with a 0.6% gain.

Going ahead, market attention will shift to earnings reports from Infosys, Groww Venture, HDB Financial Services, HDFC AMC, ICICI Prudential AMC, Indian Overseas Bank, Waaree Renewables Technologies, Union Bank of India, Anand Rathi Share And Stock Brokers, among others.

Wednesday's trading session will also see the allotment of the ₹1,071 crore IPO of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Coal India Ltd

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Technical view

Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities sees scope for an upside move from current levels, with the Nifty likely to overcome the 25,900–26,000 resistance zone in the coming sessions. He places immediate support at around 25,600.

Ajit Mishra of Religare Broking said markets remained volatile on the weekly expiry and ended marginally lower amid mixed cues. He said that market movements continue to reflect a tug of war between earnings-driven reactions and global uncertainty.

Religare Broking maintains a cautious stance on the Nifty and recommends a sell-on-rise strategy until the index decisively reclaims the 26,000 mark. A clear break below the medium-term 100-day EMA near 25,600 could deepen the correction toward the 25,400 level.

Nandish Shah of HDFC Securities said the Nifty needs to cross its 50-day EMA near 25,900 to regain momentum, while the recent swing low of 25,473 is expected to provide near-term support.