On Friday, the Nifty formed a bullish candle on the daily scale. The index took out its previous swing high and formed a bullish candle with an upper wick, suggesting selling at a higher level. Analysts said the index may continue to consolidate as long as it does not take out the 18,200 level. The levels of 18,000 and 17,800 would act as key support, they said.
The 50-pack index settled at 18,117. On Friday, 15 of them went up 64.45 points or 0.36 per cent. The NSE barometer gained 1.86 per cent or 330 points for the week.
Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities said there was a reasonable positive candle on the daily chart and indicated an attempt to up-move post-consolidation movement in the market. The positive chart patterns, like a smaller degree higher top-bottom, are intact on the daily chart, and Thursday's low of 17,959 could be considered a new higher bottom of the sequence, Shetti said.
Shetti said the long bull candle on the weekly chart was placed at the edge of a decisive upside breakout of the crucial resistance around 18,100 level, a previous top. He said that this is a positive indication and one may expect further upside in the near term.
Gaurav Ratnaparkhi of Sharekhan said the Nifty continued to hover around 18,000 -- 18,100 for another session on Friday. He said the 18,200 is a key Nifty barrier for the short term.
Unless that gets taken out, the index is likely to have a short-term consolidation. On the downside, a breach of 18,000 will turn the structure in favor of the bears. The Nifty can test 17,800 on the downside. He said that 17,800 -- 18,200 will be the short-term consolidation range.
The index has close above the previous swing high, as the positive momentum continues, according to senior technical analyst Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities. The index has maintained its position above 200 DMA and the momentum indicator RSI has shown a bullish crossover. The upside potential is 18,300 - 18,600, with an upside potential of 18,300 - 18,600 in the short term. The support is pegged at 17,950, on the lower end.