By Chandan TapariaThe Nifty50 index opened in the negative, but managed to hold its immediate support in the 10,700-10,720 zone and recovered towards its crucial hurdle in the 10,770-10,780 zone. It closed flattish, by forming a Small Bullish Candle on the daily scale and a high wave long-legged Doji Candle on the weekly chart.

The index started the week near the 10,765 level and then slipped to 10,550 and again recovered to 10,818 to close near the 10,765 level. Price setup suggests that every decline is being bought into, while followup is missing at higher levels, which has helped Nifty hold below 10,770 on a closing basis. Now, the index needs to hold above 10,770 to extend its positive movement towards 10,888 and then 10,929 levels, while on the downside, supports are seen at 10,720 and then 10,660 levels. On the options front, maximum Put open interest stood at 10,600, followed by 10,500, while maximum Call OI was at 11,000, followed by 10,800.

There was Put writing at 10,600 and 10,700 while Call writing was seen at 11,000 and then 10,700.

Options data suggested a broader trading range between 10,650 and 10,850 levels for the coming sessions. India VIX fell 0.65 per cent to 12.69.

VIX fell by 6.43 per cent for the entire week and the overall lower volatility with a higher Put-Call Ratio suggested a bullish bias for the market. Bank Nifty formed a Hammer candle followed by a Shooting Star candle on daily chart, which clearly indicated a tug of war between the bulls and the bears to grab the market on their respective side. The index managed to recover from its intraday support at 26,250 and it has been respecting its rising support trend line formed by connecting the swing lows of 24,753, 25,662, 25,668 and 26,069.

Now, it has to hold above 26,250 to witness an upward move towards 26,750, while on the downside, immediate supports are seen at 26,100 and then 25,950 levels. Nifty futures closed in the negative with a 0.25 per cent loss at 10,738.

Long buildup was seen in Star, Bajaj Finance, IGL, Wockhardt Pharma, GAIL, UBL, Marico, Reliance and BEML while shorts were seen in Castrol Industries, Jet Airways, Pidilite Industries, Ashok Leylands and ICICI Bank. (Chandan Taparia is Technical Derivative Analyst at Motilal Oswal Securities.

Investors are advised to consult financial advisers before taking an investment calls based on these observations)