Resistance around 20,550

The markets ended last week on a high note as the major indices gained by over 9 per cent. The Sensex began the week on a weak note, as was expected, but the bulls came back strongly and took the index to a new high. It rallied to a fresh all-time intra-day high of 19,276, gaining by 2,105 points from the weekly low of 17,171.

The Sensex finally ended the week at a record 19,243, registering a hefty gain of 9.6 per cent or 1,683 points.

The low of 17,171 was significantly higher then the support level of 17,000 mentioned last week. Now that the markets are back into unchartered territory, it will be difficult to set upside targets.

The positive trend should continue this week. The Sensex is likely to target 20,000 to 21,000 by the year-end. On the downside, the index has a near support at 19,000 and below this, it may drop to 17,870.

The NSE Nifty came quite close to its peak of 5737 as it touched a high of 5717, up 646 points from the week’s low of 5071.

The index settled with a gain of 9.3 per cent (487 points) at 5702. The Nifty could face resistance around 5970 before crossing the 6000 mark. It is likely to find significant support around 5400 in case of a downmove.

The Sensex may face resistance around 20,045-20,295-20,550 this week. Support, on the downside, should emerge around 18,440-18,190-17,940. The Nifty, on the other hand, may face resistance around 5950-6025-6100, while on the downside, it is likely to find support around 5455-5380-5300 in the coming week.