Trade setup for Nov 17: Nifty50 may have to cross 18,450 decisively to sustain momentum in near term

Globally, investors remained on the back foot amid concerns about the impact of steep hikes in benchmark interest rates on economic growth.

The Nifty50 has formed a small doji candle on the daily chart, according to Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail) at Kotak Securities.

“After the spectacular rally last week, investors are in no hurry to lap up stocks despite some tailwinds in the domestic economy... The current market texture is non-directional and a fresh uptrend is possible only after a breakout at 18,450," he said.

"Having taken out a key hurdle at 42,500, the Nifty Bank may continue to rise all the way to the 43,000 mark if it manages to sustain above 42,500," said Kunal Shah, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.

"Lower-end support stands at 42,000 and momentum indicators appears to be in a strong buying zone, which will help the index move higher," he added.

Equities in other Asian markets began the day in the red as investors assessed the future course of benchmark interest rates following hawkish remarks from Fed officials and a better-than-expected US inflation reading last week. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was down 1.4 percent at the last count.

Japan's Nikkei was down 0.4 percent, China's Shanghai Composite 0.6 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 2.1 percent

S&P 500 futures were flat. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 ended 0.8 percent lower, the Dow Jones fell 0.1 percent and the tech stocks-heavy Nasdaq Composite 1.5 percent.

Kotak Securities' Chouhan believes a breakout in the 50-scrip index above 18,450 could lead to levels of 18,550-18,600.

"A dismissal of 18,350 could lead to more selling pressure that could send the index retesting 18,250-18,200-odd levels,” he said.

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

On the other hand, seven scrips hit 52-week lows: