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Nifty ended last week a tad below the 17,600 mark by adding more than a percent to its previous weekly close.

For the last few days, Nifty had been trapped in a small range and finally, it managed to find some momentum.

The trend is extremely strong but, the current move is not giving us comfort. We reiterate that when things start to look hunky-dory and there are no signs of correction, the market surprises.

Yes, it’s difficult to predict the precise time, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry. As of now, we are not advising to short but at least one can choose to keep booking profits on a regular interval and stay light on positions.

The sharp correction of September 17 from higher levels is clearly an indication of this and hence, we continue with our cautious stance.

As far as levels are concerned, 17,700–17,800 are to be seen as immediate hurdles whereas, on the flip side, 17,450–17,250 should be treated as key supports.

The first sign of real weakness would come only if we start sliding below the lower range.

The banking space had the lion's share in the last week's rally as we saw Bank Nifty coming out of its long slumber to post a fresh record high of 38,112.75.

Going ahead, all eyes would be on this heavyweight basket because if Nifty has to move towards 18,000, this space needs to continue its momentum.

In addition, the broader end of the spectrum had a fabulous run throughout last week but we saw some decent profit-booking in this space as well on the last day, which does not bode well.

Hence, we remain a bit sceptical and we expect the picture to get clear in the coming week.