On January 16, the Indian stock market benchmark failed to hold on to early gains, slipping under selling pressure. The Nifty was flat at 17,969 at 10:35 am, while its front-month futures struggled around 18,034.75. Traders and analysts expect the index to trade in a range.

Traders said the index could not gain momentum as every advance was sold off. Some of them employ the same strategy.

The Nifty has moved between 17,850 and 18,200 for the past few weeks. The contract expires on January 19, and most new calls are concentrated around 18000 and 18100, becoming a resistance zone. Shorts closed at 17,900, moving lower.

There are some gains from the Bank Nifty deal. The index rose 0.5% to 42,601.75, but not all traders hoped the index would hold onto gains.

Shijumon Antony, an equity derivatives trader who typically trades Bank Nifty and Fin Nifty contracts, said he initially bought call options but took profits and now buys put options when he sees both indexes fall.

Sectors such as metals, oil and gas, and telecommunications saw the accumulation of short buildup, a bearish look at falling prices, and an increase in open interest (OI). Long-term collection of financial and capital goods is bullish when prices rise with OI.

L&T Financial Holdings and Whirlpool of India are also among the long-term accumulation companies. They saw the most significant rise in OI during the day. At the same time, there was a short-lived increase in PVR.

Trader and technical analyst Manish Shah said the market would be flat, but he sees short-term trading opportunities in individual stocks.