Trade setup for March 15: Nifty crosses key hurdle but can it hold course? Market cues, technical signals and levels to track

"The index finally challenged crucial resistance at 16,800-17,000 levels, partially filling the downside opening gap. This is a positive sign," he said.

"The 50-scrip index has risen above its 20-day moving average, a swing high on the daily chart and the upper end of a falling channel... The bulls are having an upper hand," said Gaurav Ratnaparkhi, Head of Technical Research at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

He sees 17,000 as the next important level to watch out for. "Once it is crossed on a closing basis, the Nifty will open up significant upside potential. On the other hand, near-term support has shifted higher to 16,700-16,800, he added.

At 7:39 am on Tuesday, Singapore Exchange Nifty futures -- an early indicator of the Nifty index -- were down 96.5 points or 0.6 percent at 16,786.5, suggesting a weak opening ahead on Dalal Street.

Equities in other Asian markets were in the red early on Tuesday as increasing COVID-19 cases in China hurt the confidence of investors already nervous about the Russia-Ukraine war and a hike in pandemic-era interest rates in the US. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was down 1.4 percent at the last count.

China's Shanghai Composite was down 1.3 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng 1.6 percent and South Korea's KOSPI 0.6 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 0.3 percent and Singapore's Straits Times 0.8 percent.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.2 percent. On Monday, the S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent and the Nasdaq Composite two percent, dragged by tech and growth stocks. The Dow Jones, however, finished flat.

HDFC Securities' Shetti is of the view that the Nifty's short-term uptrend remains intact but with high volatility.

He sees the possibility of further consolidation in the near term, with immediate support at 16,450. He believes weakness from the highs can't be ruled out on Tuesday.

"The Nifty's move above the key hurdle of 16,800-16,850, led by the banking space, shows that the bulls are certainly back in the driver’s seat, with a lot of stocks expected to once again resume their broader trend," said Ruchit Jain, Lead Research, 5paisa.com.

However, the index may find a hurdle at 17,000, the 50 percent retracement level of its recent correction, he said.

"Unless there’s some catastrophic effect on the global equities due to news flows, our market could see a gradual upmove... Traders should look for stock-specific buying opportunities," Jain added.

176.5 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made net purchases worth Rs 1,098.6 crore.

Exchange data shows the maximum call open interest is accumulated at 17,500, with 1.1 lakh contracts, and 17,000, with around 80,500 contracts. The maximum put open interest at 16,000, with almost 93,700 contracts.

This suggests the Nifty is approaching major resistance at 17,000, before 17,500, and has meaningful support at 16,000.

Here are five stocks that saw an increase in open interest as well as price:

(Decrease in open interest as well as price)

(Increase in price and decrease in open interest)

(Increase in open interest and decrease in price)