
Nifty's breakout above 25,150 to pave way for 25,500: Analysts
Nifty may continue its consolidation phase this week, as the index faces key resistance around the 25,100–25,150 zone. A breakout above this range could pave the way toward the 25,500–25,700 levels. On the downside, 24,500–24,600 is seen as a strong support zone. Analysts believe that any dips from current levels could be used to accumulate quality stocks, particularly in the financials, infrastructure, capital goods, and PSU-linked sectors.
DHARMESH SHAH
HEAD OF TECHNICAL, ICICI SECURITIES
Where is Nifty Headed This Week?
Nifty underperformed global peers last week. Its weekly price action formed a small bearish candle, suggesting an extended breather. We expect the index to continue consolidating in the 24,500–25,100 range, with a positive bias. The index has sustained above its 20-day moving average, and the formation of higher highs and higher lows, along with improving market breadth, suggests that a breakout above 25,100 is likely, with a target of 25,500 in June.
Trading Strategies for the Week:
Volatility is expected to subside as the earnings season concludes, and attention shifts to the upcoming RBI policy. Sectors such as BFSI, auto, capital goods, realty, oil & gas, and metals are expected to be in focus. Dips should be viewed as buying opportunities, with strong support at 24,200. Stock picks include Reliance, SBI, Axis Bank, DLF, L&T, Tata Steel, HPCL, and Adani Ports (5–6% upside potential). Mid-cap picks include Indian Bank, L&T Finance, Elgi Equipment, HEG, and JK Cement (8–10% potential).
SUDEEP SHAH
HEAD - TECHNICAL AND DERIVATIVE RESEARCH, SBI SECURITIES
Where is Nifty Headed This Week?
Nifty posted its lowest monthly range in 10 months, a sign that often precedes sharp directional moves. Despite the tight trading band, the index closed the month on a positive note, marking its third consecutive monthly gain. Strong rollovers suggest continued investor confidence. Seasonality trends are also favourable—June has ended in the green in 11 out of the last 18 years, with an average gain of 4.19%. Technically, 25,050–25,100 is the immediate resistance zone; a sustained breakout could trigger a rally to 25,500–25,700. On the downside, 24,500–24,550 is a key support, followed by the 50-day EMA near 24,100.
Trading Strategies for the Week
This consolidation phase presents a good opportunity for long-term investors to accumulate quality largeand mid-cap stocks. Traders should focus on PSU banks, financials, capital markets, PSEs, and realty, which may outperform in the near term. Large-cap ideas include HDFC Bank, Pidilite, PNB, and Bank of Baroda. In the mid-cap segment, Muthoot Finance, Manappuram, Cummins, NBCC, and HUDCO are expected to perform well.
TANMAY SHAH
HEAD OF RESEARCH, SIHL
Where is Nifty Headed This Week?
Nifty is showing signs of indecision amid global slowdown fears triggered by a 0.2% dip in US GDP— the first since 2022—raising concerns of possible stagflation. The index faces crucial resistance at 25,080. A breakout above this level could pave the way for a move towards 25,550. On the downside, 24,600 is expected to act as strong support, cushioning against further declines..
Trading Strategies for the Week
With the market now focused on the upcoming MPC meeting, which broadly anticipating a rate cut, liquidity could improve, adding further stability. While valuations appear stretched, a 'buy-on-dips' approach could be prudent. Other sectors showing strength include metals, chemicals, housing finance, textiles, and infrastructure. Among large-caps, SBIN, Adani Ports, IOC, and UltraTech Cement look solid. In the mid-cap space, PB Fintech, Deepak Nitrite, and KEI Industries stand out, while Laurus Labs, NCC, and PNB Housing Finance offer small-cap potential.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Analysts see another 25 bps rate cut
As the Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sits down to deliberate on interest rates for three days, beginning Wednesday, it will have its eyes firmly on external factors, which is the biggest risk currently at sight for growth in India. Keeping in view the fact that inflation is under control, most analysts believe the rate-setting panel might cut the repo rate by another 25 bps. With consumer price index (CPI) based inflation forecast to trail 4% for a large part of this fiscal, monetary easing by the MPC is likely to continue. A 25 bps rate cut is expected this week, followed by two more cuts over the subsequent two policy reviews, taking the repo rate to 5.25% by the end of the cycle. With growth below trend and inflation below target, we believe policy rates will need to move into the accommodative zone rather than neutral, says a report by Nomura. 'As such, we expect an additional 100 bps rate cut to a terminal rate of 5.00%, with 25 bps cuts in each of June, August, October and December,' it says. Nomura underscored the fact its projection for both GDP growth and inflation are lower than the RBI estimates. Nomura predicts India's GDP to grow at 6.2% against RBI's projection of 6.5%, and FY26 inflation to be 3.3% against 4% predicted by the RBI.


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Further repo rate cut is imminent on June 8, 2025
Dr Rao is currently teaching risk management in the institute of Insurance and Risk Management (IIRM). A career banker with Bank of Baroda, he held the position of General Manager - Strategic Planning, Later was Associate Professor with National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM) and was Director, National Institute of Banking Studies and Corporate Management (NIBSCOM). He writes for financial dailies on Banking and Finance and his work can be viewed in the public academic accomplishments include Ph.d in commerce from Banaras Hindu University (BHU), MBA ( Finance), LLB. He runs a Youtube channel - Bank on Me - Knowledge series He likes to share his perspectives with next generation potential leaders of the banking industry. His book on "Transformation of Public Sector Banks in India' was published in september 2019. His most interesting work is in blog. LESS ... MORE In the backdrop of the economy's multidimensional resilience growing at 6.5 percent in FY25, in line with RBI expectations, and inflation expected to stay below the 4 percent mark, there is general buoyancy in markets. This is despite tense geopolitical risks, ongoing border unrest, and the US changing the tariff gears, arbitrarily increasing uncertainty. GDP growth is supported by corresponding GVA growth during FY25 at 6.4 percent, though it dropped from 8.6 percent in FY24 in sync with the then-GDP. Among the important drivers of monetary policy, the inflation and growth trajectories are key factors influencing the policy actions. The annual inflation rate fell to 3.16 percent in April 2025, down from 3.34 percent recorded in March 2025. April inflation is firmly below the market expectations of 3.3 percent. RBI at its bi-monthly policy meeting in April, projected CPI-based inflation for the current fiscal FY26 at 4 per cent, assuming a normal monsoon. Notably, inflation in the April–June quarter (Q1) is expected to dip as low as 3.6 per cent, revised sharply down from an earlier estimate of 4.5 per cent. Food prices, which account for nearly half of the consumer price basket, rose only 1.78 percent, the least since October 2021, and down from 2.69 percent in March. Even WPI averaged 2.3 percent, subscribing to the receding trend. Prospects of the economy: The agriculture sector is expected to rebound to a growth of 3.8 per cent in FY25. The industrial sector is estimated to grow by 6.2 per cent in FY25. Strong growth rates in construction activities and electricity, gas, water supply, and other utility services are expected to support industrial expansion. On a yearly basis services sector grew by 7.2 per cent in FY25 as against 9.0 per cent in FY24. The manufacturing sector has always been a cause of concern. Its HSBC India Manufacturing PMI was down to 57.6 in May 2025 from 58.2 in April. Service sector PMI clocks 58.2 in April, a notch lower than 58.5 recorded in March 2025. RBI projections of GDP for FY26 are 6.5 percent, and inflation is expected to be 4 percent. IMF expects GDP to grow at 6.2 percent while the World Bank expects India to grow at 6.3 percent in is more optimistic about the GDP of India growing at 6.4 percent in FY26. According to the IMF, India is still known to be the fastest-growing large economy, which is now the 4th largest economy, surpassing Japan and a notch below Germany. External Sector: In an interconnected financial system, it is necessary to understand the linkages of the domestic economy with the rest of the world. RBI has been cutting rates since February 2025, while the US Federal Reserve has held the federal funds rate steady in a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent in the last 3 FOMC meetings since December 2024, after lowering it by one percent. The last mile disinflation journey was tough, and US inflation reached 2.1 percent in April 2025, close to its target of two percent. UK inflation shot back to 3.5 percent in April 2025, up from 2.6 percent in March 2025. It may prompt the Bank of England to keep the rates steady until the inflation drops. ECB too began rate cuts in June 2024 and has been giving priority to price stability. Its inflation is at 2.2 percent in April against a target of 2 percent. On 17th April 2025, it had cut rates by 25 basis points, which was effective from 23 April 2025. Way forward: Notably, the GDP of 6.5 percent in FY25 is below 9.2 percent in FY24 and 7.6 percent in FY23. Since the upside risks to inflation cannot be ruled out due to the sensitivity of food inflation, a close to 50 percent weightage in the basket. Balancing growth–inflation dynamics will need a lot of forward data and market intelligence inputs to find a common ground. But given the potentiality of the economy to be unleashed, thrust on growth and balancing it well with inflation will call for a further rate cut in the upcoming monetary policy review. Having already cut the repo rate by 50 basis points by bringing it down to 6 percent, going by the macroeconomic developments, another 25-basis-point repo rate cut is imminent. There are, of course, bullish views that the RBI may be aggressive in going for a 50-basis-point rate cut, which may not look realistic. The external sector dynamics amid tariff tussle and geopolitical risks could pose unanticipated risks. RBI has changed the stance of monetary policy in April to 'accommodative' and is providing adequate liquidity from time to time to ensure efficient and quick transmission of policy rates. It has injected Rs. 6.6 lakh crore into the system by using tools like open market operations (OMO), variable rate repo (VRR) auctions, and dollar-rupee swaps to inject liquidity in the banking system. Despite adequate liquidity, bank credit growth moderated to 11.2 percent in April 2025, a decrease from the 15.3 percent growth seen in the same period the previous year. This slowdown was observed across various sectors, including retail loans, personal loans, and industry credit. However, certain sectors like loans against jewelry and renewable energy experienced substantial growth. The latest RBI guidelines on Gold Loans should be able to enable better risk management as the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is fixed at 75 percent. Though the near-term impact for some of the NBFCs could be challenging but in the long run, it will be inculcating a better credit risk culture. The new LCR norms are now made effective from April 1, 2026, providing enough time for banks to plan the structural liquidity pattern. Banks should focus on finding ways to increase the flow of credit to productive sectors of the economy, with a focus on manufacturing, particularly to MSMEs. The impending lower interest rate regime should help banks to raise funds at a lower cost that can be passed on to borrowers to push the credit growth and stimulate the economy. All pointers are signifying the imminent rate cut of 25 basis points now unless the RBI goes aggressive to opt for a 50 basis points. A calibrated reduction of interest rates is desirable to enable efficient transmission of rates and provide latitude to markets to adjust their cost dynamics. However,, a low-interest rate regime is a welcome recipe for growth. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.


Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Banks park big money with 'rival' mutual funds
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Much of the debate in the banking industry in 2024 revolved around why the deposits growth was extremely muted in relation to the growth in credit. Some blamed it on mutual funds, some on gold and others on derivatives trading by individuals. But the truth was a lot more 2025, Indian financial markets are seeing something that they don't see often. Banks, which, forever, used to seek deposits or borrow from the market to lend are doing something strange: they are pouring funds into mutual funds which, partly, compete with them for a share of the investor's mutual fund investments jumped 91% on year to ₹1.19 lakh crore as on March 21, 2025, from ₹62,499 crore a year earlier, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bulletin showed. Banks' MF investments had grown 28% in the previous fundamental business of banks is to lend to individuals who are keen to buy homes and cars, or to those entrepreneurs and companies which are looking to put up plants or set up services business. But they seem to be keen on giving funds to MFs instead of directly lending to borrowers. Why is it?There may be two reasons for that-one, that there is not much demand for loans from banks, and second, that they are suddenly finding themselves with surplus funds because of what the monetary authorities are doing."Besides suboptimal credit growth, bank investments in mutual funds schemes have gone up due to surplus liquidity conditions, favourable market conditions and relatively faster execution," said Vinod AN, general manager and treasury head at South Indian Bank Banks loans grew 12.1% in FY25, down from 16.3% a year earlier. This is probably due to slowing income growth and uncertainties on the jobs front for many. This situation is the opposite of what was the situation in the year before when loans grew 16.3%, and deposits were at 12.9% growth. This led to a lot of debate about whether there is a behavioural shift in savers."Households and consumers who traditionally leaned on banks for parking or investing their savings are increasingly turning to capital markets and other financial intermediaries," said former RBI governor Shaktikanta Das. "While bank deposits continue to remain dominant as a percentage of financial assets owned by households, their share has been declining. Households are turning to other avenues for deploying their savings instead of banks." While individual behaviour was part of the problem, there was also a monetary phenomenon at work. The RBI, which wanted to tame inflation kept the monetary conditions tight, forcing banks to borrow from it or the market. But that has since changed to accommodative from banking system is in surplus at ₹1.5 lakh crore. Banks probably have more than what they need to meet the loans are parking excess funds with MFs. Are they buying shares? Or, are they doing SIPs? Neither. They know that this is a short-term issue. They are also doing something to earn higher short-term returns. "Most investments are in liquid and money market schemes, which is also reflected in the MF investment numbers where investments are in zero risk short-term debt instruments such as T-bills where returns are higher," said Venkat N Chalasani, CEO, Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).