Trade Setup for November 21: Nifty set for blue sky territory after nearing September 2024 peak

The Nifty bulls challenged its all-time high on Thursday, with the index moving above the recent swing high on the daily chart, intensifying bullish sentiment.

The market closed in the green, though off intra-day highs, as broader markets underperformed. While both Sensex and Nifty touched 52-week highs, they remained a few points shy of their lifetime peaks.

The Nifty crossed the 26,200 level for the first time since September 2024, driven largely by heavyweight large-cap stocks. Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank were the key contributors, providing the thrust needed to keep the index firmly in positive territory.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty Financial Services and Nifty Oil & Gas led gains, while Nifty Media and Nifty PSU Bank lagged, reflecting selective sectoral buying.

In contrast, the broader market saw weaker participation, with Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 significantly underperforming the frontline indices.

Globally, investors await the FOMC meeting minutes and key US jobs data, which could influence the direction of global markets.

Market outlook going ahead

Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal expects the up-move to continue, tracking domestic cues, global macro data, FII flows, and a potential India–US trade announcement.

Nandish Shah of HDFC Securities said a decisive break above 26,277 could propel Nifty into blue sky territory, opening the door for further gains.

Centrum Broking's Nilesh Jain said that Nifty has breached the double-top resistance around 26,100 and closed just below 26,200, with immediate support now at 26,000. He expects the index to aim for 26,400-26,500 in the near term.

Rupak De of LKP Securities said sentiment supports long trades as long as Nifty remains above 26,100. A drop below this level may trigger weakness toward 25,900, while sustaining above 26,160 could push the index to 26,300 and higher.

Osho Krishnan of Angel One mentioned that with broader participation, the near-term outlook appears decisively bullish. He identified support at 26,100-26,000, with the sacrosanct support around 25,800. The lifetime high of 26,277 acts as psychological resistance, with a potential breakthrough paving the way for 26,500.

Sudeep Shah of SBI Securities expects Nifty to maintain its upward bias, potentially testing 26,350 and 26,500 in the short term, with downside support at 26,050-26,000.

The Bank Nifty continued its stellar run, marking fresh all-time highs on Thursday and recording new peaks in every trading session this week.

From a technical perspective, the chart structure remains positive, with key upside targets at 59,700 and 60,300, according to Shah.