Somil Mehta, Head of Alternate Research at Mirae Asset Sharekhan, is clear-eyed about the duality of the setup. A bounce is coming, but investors should not mistake it for a reversal.
ETMarkets.comThe 23,000 floor — and why it must hold
For Mehta, the 23,000 mark on Nifty is not just a round number — it is a technical line in the sand. “Markets have bounced back from a very crucial level,” he notes. “A close below that would again resume the downtrend,” he said in a chat with ET Now. As long as Nifty holds above this support, a recovery toward the 23,500–23,600 zone remains the base case for the very short term.But the rally, when it comes, should be treated with discipline. Weekly and monthly charts continue to show a pattern of lower tops and lower bottoms — the textbook definition of a downtrend. Momentum indicators on the daily chart remain on the sell side. A bounce within a downtrend is a trading opportunity, not a signal to load up on risk.
“The trend still remains weak. We are expecting a bounce to 23,500–23,600 — but the medium-term target for Nifty remains 22,750.”
The 22,750 level carries significance beyond just being a support zone. It represents the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement of the entire Nifty rally of the past one to one-and-a-half years — a level technical analysts watch closely as a potential equilibrium point before any sustainable reversal can take hold.
Three sectors to watch in this bounce
With broad market indices under pressure, Mehta’s strategy is not to wait for a market-wide recovery but to identify pockets where medium-term trends are already turning. Three sectors stand out on his charts: Power, Pharma, and IT — each at a different stage of conviction.
Power is his strongest call. NTPC has been forming higher tops and higher bottoms — the mirror image of the broader market’s bearish structure. PFC is already in an active upward move. Tata Power has delivered a strong recent rally. “Power is looking really good from here,” Mehta says, with these three as his preferred names in the sector.
In pharma, Lupin has broken out and begun what Mehta describes as a fresh upward move. Biocon and Glenmark Pharma are also technically constructive at current levels. The sector offers a degree of domestic insulation from the global macro turbulence that has rattled export-sensitive industries.IT is the most conditional of the three calls. The Nifty IT index shed sharply in recent sessions and Mehta is not calling a structural reversal. What he is watching for is a sharp bounce in large-cap names — Infosys, TCS, HCL Tech, and Tech Mahindra — once the charts confirm a return to higher tops and higher bottoms. The signal is not yet there, but the setup is being monitored closely.
ETMarkets.comA truncated week ahead: How to play it
With next week shortened by the Ram Navami holiday on Thursday, traders should expect thinner liquidity and the potential for exaggerated moves. Mehta’s framework is straightforward: treat any push toward 23,500–23,600 as a zone to reassess positions, defend 23,000 on the downside as the definitive line, and use the relative calm to build sector-specific watchlists in power, pharma, and select IT — ready to act decisively when confirmation arrives.