Trade Setup for September 19: Nifty crossing 25,500 remains the key for further gains

The market extended its winning streak for the third consecutive session on Thursday, with the Nifty closing firmly above the 25,400 mark, its highest level since July 9. The rally followed the US Federal Reserve's 25-basis-point rate cut to 4-4.25% and its signal of two more reductions this year.

After opening with an upside gap of 111 points, the index slipped into range-bound trade during the early to mid-session. A bout of weakness emerged mid-way, but the Nifty staged a sharp recovery towards the close and ended near the day's highs. The benchmark added 93 points to settle at 25,424.

The index has now advanced in 12 of the past 14 sessions, reclaiming more than 1,000 points from the recent swing low of 24,404, hit on August 29, 2025.

Eternal, HDFC Life, and Sun Pharma led the day's gainers in the Nifty basket, while Coal India, Bajaj Finance, and Trent were among the top laggards.

Sectoral performance was mixed, with Pharma, Healthcare, and IT leading the advance, while Media, PSU Banks, Realty, and Oil & Gas ended with mild losses.

In the broader market, momentum remained strong, with the Nifty Midcap 100 up 0.38% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 higher by 0.29%, both extending their winning run to 10 straight sessions.

Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal said the gradual uptrend is likely to continue, with tariff-related developments guiding near-term sentiment.

Nandish Shah of HDFC Securities said that Nifty remains in an uptrend, with immediate support near 25,250 and resistance at 25,550-25,670.

LKP Securities' Rupak De said the short-term trend is positive, with support at 25,300-25,150 and resistance at 25,500. A decisive break above this level could fuel a rally towards 26,000.

Nilesh Jain of Centrum Broking added that the overall technical setup is strong, with momentum indicators showing bullish crossovers. He expects the index to test 25,650 and recommends a buy-on-dips approach.

Additionally, the Nifty Bank index also continued its upward momentum on Thursday, recovering smartly from the day's low and closing above the 55,700 mark. This marks the 12th consecutive positive close, reflecting sustained pullback in banking stocks.

Going ahead, the zone of 56,000-56,100 will act as an important hurdle for the index. Any sustainable move above the level of 56,000 will lead to a sharp upside rally upto the level of 56,600, followed by the 57,000 level in the short term. While, on the downside, the zone of 55,400-55,300 will act as crucial support, said Sudeep Shah of SBI Securities.