Nifty volatility surges ahead of election results: What investors need to know

ETMarkets.com

Over the past few weeks, we have seen the Nifty and the VIX rising simultaneously. Past instances have shown that such a phenomenon often ends up acting as a precursor to any impending corrective move. We had into the expiry of the current month's derivative series; Nifty has built up fresh OI at 23,000 and 23,500 levels on the upside.

On the lower side, 22,500 has been seen building support as per the options data. The derivatives data show that the Nifty is gearing up for a volatile move on either side while it navigates the election outcome.

The coming week may see a stable start to the trade; the levels of 23,200 and 23,350 are likely to act as immediate resistance levels. The supports come in at 22,700 and 23,550 levels.

The is 67.29; it shows a mild bearish divergence against the price. The weekly MACD is bearish and trades below its signal line. A strong white-bodied candle shows a buoyant trend that existed throughout the week.

The pattern analysis of the weekly chart continues to show Nifty staying in a small rising channel; however, the nearest support in the form of a 20-week MA exists way below at 22179. So the slightest of the corrective bout has got significant downsides from the current levels.

The 50-DMA is placed at 22342. So on a broader note, the immediate support zone for the Index exists at 22,150-22,350 levels. While the markets may stay in a broad range so long as they are above this zone, any violation of this support zone with inflict technical damage on the charts.

Overall, as we navigate the coming monthly derivatives expiry week and the general election outcome after that, it would be extremely important to prepare for the volatility that we are set to witness in the markets. It would be prudent to curtail leveraged exposures.

Fresh buying should be kept limited to defensive and low-beta stocks;

exposures in stocks with either strong or improving relative strength would be an added advantage. While enforcing strict protective stops and opting for hedges wherever possible, a very cautious approach is advised in the coming week.

In our look at Relative Rotation Graphs®, we compared various sectors against CNX500 (NIFTY 500 Index), which represents over 95% of the free float market cap of all the stocks listed.

ETMarkets.com

ETMarkets.com

(RRG) show that the Nifty Auto, Consumption, and Metal Index stay inside the leading quadrant. These groups are likely to continue to relatively outperform the broader markets.

While staying inside the weakening quadrant, both Realty and PSE indices are showing improvement in their relative momentum against the broader markets along with the Commodities and Midcap 100 index. Besides this, the PSU Bank, Pharma, Infrastructure, and Energy index are also placed inside the weakening quadrant.

The Nifty IT Index continues to languish inside the lagging quadrant of the RRG. It is likely to relatively underperform the broader Nifty 500 Index. The Media Index is also placed inside the lagging quadrant. However, it is seen sharply improving its relative momentum and is on the verge of rolling inside the improving quadrant. The Nifty Services sector index has rolled back inside the lagging quadrant.

The FMCG index stays firmly placed inside the improving quadrant. The Nifty Financial Services and the Nifty Bank Index are also placed inside the improving quadrant.

(Important Note: RRGTM charts show the relative strength and momentum of a group of stocks. In the above Chart, they show relative performance against NIFTY500 Index (Broader Markets) and

should not be used directly as buy or sell signals.)

(The author is CMT, MSTA, is a Consulting Technical Analyst and founder of EquityResearch.asia and ChartWizard.ae)