Buy now ahead of the next upmove: Experts

It turned out to be a flat and stable day for markets today. The markets traded in a narrow range one session before the expiry of the March future and options series. Volumes picked up in today's session, closing at Rs 1.35 lakh crore.

The Nifty closed with modest gains at 5,225, up 20 points higher, while the Sensex scaled down from the days highs to shut shop at 17,451, up 40 points. The Midcap index put on some weight, while the advance-decline ratio came in at 1:1.

Where is the Nifty headed?
Gaurav Doshi, Vice-President, Equity Specialist for PMS at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management India, said the market is expecting another hike maybe in mid-April. This, he feels, will keep some amount of pressure on supply emerging above the 5,280-5,300 mark. He thinks the market needs to consolidate here ahead of the next upmove.

Dharmesh Dalal, Head-Equity Sales, Antique Stock Broking, has no doubts that the Nifty may cross 5,300 levels. He expects money to flow into India. "The thought process of the government wanting to address the fiscal deficit is very well appreciated and received by investors. I would not be surprised if i see the Nifty crossing 5,300 levels as well. It is more of perception earnings rather than price earnings."

Sajiv Dhawan of JV Capital Services advises investors to buy on dips ahead of the next upmove. He too sees the markets consolidating at higher levels getting ready to take out 5300-5400 in the short-term. "The momentum and liquidity flows are taking these markets higher and global cues are also not much of a distraction currently."

However, Technical Analyst Ashwani Gujral too feels the market is in a churn kind of phase. "It is not in a directional kind of phase, so it does not serve any purpose to talk about breakouts. This zone of 5,150-5,200-5,300 still remains a problem area. Now, the problem is that rate sensitives have broken. Any time there is a global problem, 5,300 will again hold and we will stay within the range. I would not be betting on a breakout from this range immediately. We could still continue like this for the next 2-3 months."