Nifty to consolidate between 25,850–26,300 in coming weeks: Rajesh Bhosale

The Indian market opened the week on a muted note, with Nifty managing to stay above the crucial 26,000 mark even as momentum appeared to cool off following last week’s record highs. Broader markets remained under strain, signalling a cautious tone among investors.

Market analyst Rajesh Bhosale from Angel One in an interview to ET Now noted that despite the new peak, strong follow-up buying has been missing. “Nifty marked a fresh new high last week, but there is no follow-up buying despite positive outcomes like good GDP numbers and a cut in rates. Despite that, follow-up momentum is not there,” he said.

According to him, Nifty is currently trapped in a well-defined zone. “Nifty is trading in a consolidation zone where 25,850 is acting as support and 26,200 to 26,300 is the resistance. We expect Nifty to continue consolidating within this range for the next few weeks. Consider buying at lower levels and booking profits at higher levels.”

He added that the broader market picture remains weak compared to the headline index. “One needs to be very selective because broader markets are under tremendous pressure. While Nifty continues to trade near its all-time high, small-caps and mid-caps are under pressure. In fact, small-caps have slipped below the 200-DMA, so one needs to be very selective.”

Bank Nifty: Resistance Ahead, Support Intact

Bhosale also highlighted a similar pattern playing out in the banking index. “Similarly, the banking space is also in consolidation. Around 60,000, Bank Nifty is facing resistance, while on the lower side the 20-EMA has acted as strong support. So 58,500 to 60,000 seems to be the immediate range. The same bias applies here: buy on dips and book profits at higher levels.”Stock Picks: HDFC Life, BPCL Showing StrengthEven in a market that is turning selective, he pointed out two names that are holding up well.“Two counters are showing relative strength and we expect outperformance from them. One is HDFC Life. It has been in positive momentum for the last three sessions, and today it has crossed above three moving averages. We expect HDFC Life to continue its outperformance. With a stop-loss at 757, one can buy for near-term targets of around 810.”

His second recommendation was from the oil marketing pack. “The second buy call is on BPCL. During November, the stock gave a breakout around 350 and then moved toward 380. Prices later entered a correction phase. Last week we saw a strong weekly formation, and today, despite being flat, it is showing relative strength. We expect the uptrend to continue. With a stop-loss at 352, BPCL can be bought. In the near term, we expect the recent highs around 378 to be retested.”

Outlook: Cautious Optimism, Range-Bound MovesWith benchmark indices near all-time highs and broader markets under pressure, analysts expect consolidation to continue. Buying selectively on dips and booking profits on rallies may remain the guiding strategy until markets break decisively out of their current bands.