For the first time in 2025, the Nifty bulls were on the front foot all through the week. No selling pressure at higher levels, dips getting bought into, stocks seeing sustained upmoves crossing key levels and even the indices, it was the perfect recipe for a sigh of relief after what has been a tough last six months.

The Nifty gained nearly 1,000 points or 4.5% in the week gone by, led by a recovery from oversold levels and the absence of tariff related volatility in the global markets. If the index did well, the broader markets were not too far behind either. The Midcap index was up 7.5% for the week, while the Smallcap index gained 8.5%.

For the Nifty, it was the best week it had since 2021, while for the Midcap and Smallcap indices, they had not seen a week like the last one in five years. The recovery led to the addition of ₹22 lakh crore in investor wealth, taking the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies back above ₹400 lakh crore.

Many market experts are either calling for the market to have already made a bottom on March 4, or either believe that the stocks have come down to attractive levels after the recent correction.

“Although we are better valued now than what we were three to four months ago, but are we at cheap valuation levels? The answer would be no. Is there still froth in large pockets of the market? The answer would be yes,” Rajeev Thakkar, CIO at PPFAS Mutual Fund said in an exclusive interaction with CNBC-TV18 on Thursday, March 20.

On the flip side, Gautam Chhaochharia of UBS Securities said that the market has definitely made a bottom and that the valuations are not expensive both on an absolute, as well as on a relative basis.

The handover from Wall Street is subdued but there was no heavy selling pressure seen on Friday due to the “triple witching” phenomenon, where contracts with a notional value of over $4.5 trillion expired at the same time.

As we head into expiry week for the March series, all eyes are now on the upcoming earnings season for the quarter, as well as for the financial year in its entirety. The focus will also be on April 2, when the reciprocal tariffs announced by President Donald Trump will take effect. However, there is no clarity on where, whom and how much would these tariffs be and what would be their implications.

Foreign institutions were net buyers in the cash market on Friday. Of course, it must be taken into account that majority of the buy figure is due to the passive inflows. Domestic institutions remained net sellers for the second straight session.

The Nifty continues to move higher following a falling trendline breakout, supported by upbeat sentiment, said Rupak De of LKP Securities. A decisive move above 23,400 could drive the index higher by another 200 points as the next resistance is at 23,600. A failure to move above 23,400 could lead to near-term consolidation, he added.

Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities believes that the underlying trend of the Nifty is positive and he expects the index to advance towards the next resistance level of 23,800 in the near-term. Immediate support on the downside is at 23,250.

Kotak Securities’ Amol Athawale has observed the formation of a long, bullish candle with a higher bottom formation on the daily and intraday charts. Although he does expect profit booking at higher levels, he advises buying the dips. 23,500 is seen as an important resistance zone, while 23,100 can be a key support.

The Nifty Bank too had a good week but was overshadowed by the moves seen on the index and in the broader markets. The banking index also gained 4.5% during the last five trading sessions and is now nearing the mark of 51,000. The index will turn positive again on a year-to-date basis once it crosses and closes above the mark of 51,000.

Hrishikesh Yedve of Asit C Mehta Investment Interrmediates believes that the Nifty Bank has formed a bullish candle on both the daily and weekly charts, indicating strength. The next major resistance is at 50,650, which is the earlier swing high and a break above that can trigger further upside. He advises a buy-on-dips strategy.

What Are The F&O Cues Indicating?

Nifty 50’s futures across series shed 3.2% in Open Interest on Friday and rollovers, going into expiry week, are at 23%. The March futures are currently trading at 29.45 points premium, compared to a premium of 9.6 points earlier. The Nifty Bank’s futures across series shed 3.2% in Open Interest on Friday with rollovers going into expiry week at 43.2%. Nifty 50’s Put-Call Ratio is at 1.14 from 1.16 earlier.

IndusInd Bank, Hindustan Copper and Polycab continue to remain in the F&O ban, while Manappuram nd SAIL are out of the ban.

Nifty 50 on the Call side for March 27 expiry:

On the Call side, the Nifty 50 strikes between 23,600 and 23,800 saw Open Interest addition for this week’s monthly expiry.

Strike	OI Change	Premium
23,600	52.83 Lakh Added	41.2
23,700	24.57 Lakh Added	23.4
23,800	19.7 Lakh Added	13.6

Nifty 50 on the Put side for March 27 expiry:

On the Put side, the Nifty 50 strikes between 23,000 and 23,300 have seen Open Interest addition for next week’s monthly expiry.

Strike	OI Change	Premium
23,000	36.49 Lakh Added	27.1
23,300	34.23 Lakh Added	95.15
23,100	25.77 Lakh Added	41.1
23,200	25.68 Lakh Added	63.2

Fresh long positions were seen in these stocks on Friday, meaning an increase in both price and Open Interest:

Stock	Price Change	OI Change
Torrent Power	2.12%	12.28%
Poonawalla Fincorp	5.04%	3.64%
Titagarh Rail	6.08%	2.19%

Fresh short positions were seen in these stocks on Friday, meaning a decline in price but an increase in Open Interest:

Stock	Price Change	OI Change
Jindal Stainless	-4.74%	8.03%
NALCO	-2.90%	5.00%
Voltas	-2.96%	3.62%

Short covering was seen in these stocks on Friday, meaning an increase in price but a decline in Open Interest:

Stock	Price Change	OI Change
Aarti Industries	1.76%	-6.57%
IRCTC	1.01%	-6.51%
Coforge	1.80%	-6.47%
RBL Bank	2.11%	-6.46%

Unwinding of long positions was seen in these stocks on Friday, meaning an increase in both price and Open Interest:

Stock	Price Change	OI Change
Varun Beverages	-1.68%	-14.35%
Wipro	-0.79%	-13.41%
NMDC	-1.82%	-11.59%
Polycab	-1.57%	-10.11%
Hindalco	-1.27%	-9.12%

These are the stocks to watch out for ahead of Monday’s trading session:

• Godrej Properties: Acquires 10 acres of land in Bengaluru for residential development with an estimated revenue potential at ₹2,500 crore.
• NMDC: Federations of the unions have asked members to resume duties fully and normal operations have resumed at all projects. Unions had resorted to wilful slowdown of work due to work-to-rule with regards to wage settlement on January 10.
• IRCON: Conarch associates initiates arbitration claim of ₹158.89 crore against the company at the Arbitration tribunal.
• MSTC: Gets work order from Coal India to provide e-auction services for Coal and Coal products for a two-year period.
• PFC: Arm PFC Consulting has incorporated two Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), NES Dharashiv Transmission and NES Navi Mumbai Transmission.
• UCO Bank: Launches ₹2,000 crore QIP with an issue price of ₹34.27 per share, which is a 9.19% discount to Friday’s closing price and a 5% discount to the floor price.
• NCC: Gets LoA for a project worth ₹1,480.34 crore from Bihar Medical Services and Infrastructure corp.
• Apollo Hospitals: Arm buys 11.2% stake in Keimed for ₹625.23 crore.
• Alembic Pharma: USFDA completes inspection of API-III facility at Karakhadi, issues zero observations with a form 483.
• L&T: Elevated Subramanian Sarma as Deputy MD & President of the company from April 2. The company’s board has also approved long-term borrowings of up to ₹12,000 crore.
• Welspun Corp: Completes transaction with a strategic investor in Nauyaan Shipyard worth ₹476.39 crore for a 74% stake.
• Motilal Oswal: Raamdeo Agrawal, Motilal Oswal and Motilal Oswal Foundation sold 8 lakh shares or 0.13% stake in the company for commitments made by them towards Philanthropic goals.
• Power Grid: Sells equity shares of 20 subsidiaries worth ₹424.26 crore.