Bulls vs Bears: Here's what to expect on Dalal Street today

The Indian market closed lower on Friday amid weak global cues. Sensex fell 111 points at 52,908 and Nifty closed 28 points lower at 15,752 in volatile trade. ITC, Bajaj twins and Asian Paints were the top Sensex gainers, rising up to 3.99 per cent. Reliance Industries, PowerGrid, NTPC , and Bharti Airtel were the top Sensex losers, falling up to 7.14 per cent.

Market breadth was negative with 1,576 stocks ending higher against 1,654 stocks falling on BSE. 162 shares were unchanged.

Oil and gas stocks were the top sectoral losers with BSE oil and gas index falling 578 pts to 17,443. IT stocks were the top gainers with their BSE index rising 204 pts.

BSE midcap and smallcap indices gained 145 points and 21 points, respectively. Market cap of BSE-listed firms fell to Rs 243.87 lakh crore.

Here's a look at what analysts said about the direction the market is likely to take today.

Amol Athawale, Deputy Vice President - Technical Research, Kotak Securities

"The Nifty has formed a Hammer candlestick formation on weekly charts, and 15700 could be the trend decider level. Above the same, the index could hit 15.850-15,950 levels. On the flip side, as long as the index trades below 15,700, the correction wave is likely to continue and could retest the level of 15,500-15,350."

Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities

"On the technical front, Nifty closed above 1,5700 on Friday, which is a crucial support and if it sustains above this level for a few sessions, we may witness an upmove towards 16,000. Immediate support and resistance for Nifty are 15,600 and 15,900 respectively. Immediate support and resistance for Bank Nifty are 32,800 and 33,750 respectively."

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities

"Nifty has formed a bullish hammer pattern though its placement is not ideal. 15,619-15,861 could be the band for the Nifty in the near term."