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Nifty ended the Thursday weekly expiry stronger by 370 points at record high levels to form a long bull candle on the daily chart.On the higher end, above 23,000, the index might move towards 23,500 in the short term. On the lower end, support is placed at 22,800; the strength could remain intact as long as it remains above 22,800, said Rupak De of LKP Securities.An analysis of Nifty put options reveals a concentration of Open Interest (OI) at the 22,700 level, implying potential support at this level. On the Call side, significant OI concentrations are observed at the 23,500 and 24,000 levels.What should traders do? Here’s what analysts said:Jatin Gedia, SharekhanNifty has decisively broken above the previous resistance zone of 22,750 - 22,800 and is now heading towards the upper end of the rising channel placed at 23,100 – 23,150. Beyond which it can stretch towards 23,510. The zone of 22,750 – 22,800 shall now act as a support as per the principle of role reversal. The midcap index made an all-time high on the 17th May, Nifty on 23rd May while the Bank Nifty is still lagging and well below its all- time high.Tejas Shah, Technical Research, JM Financial & BlinkXThe short-term moving averages are just below the price action and should continue to support the indices on any decline. Support for the Nifty is now seen at 22,750-800 and 22,500-550 levels. On the higher side, the psychological resistance is at the 23,000 mark and the next resistance zone is at 23,150-200 levels. Overall, all dips should be used as an opportunity to buy.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

India should consider lowering the 18% tax imposed on recruitment agencies for providing outsourced staff to big companies, an industry body said on Thursday, which could help boost employment and wages of contract workers. The Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), a body of 125 recruitment agencies which provided 1.6 million outsourced workers to companies last year, said the new government after the elections ending on June 1 should take steps to support the hiring of more salaried workers. Unemployment has emerged as one of the key issues in India's election campaign, and opposition parties led by the Indian National Congress have criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not taking much-needed steps to address the issue. "We pay 18% goods and services tax (GST), equivalent to flying in an airline or eating at a five-star hotel," said Lohit Bhatia, president of ISF. "This discourages many employers from hiring contract workers through recruitment agencies as they see the steep tax as an additional burden." India's third-party recruitment agencies paid nearly 242 billion rupees ($2.9 billion) in tax to the government last year on the hiring of 5.4 million supporting staff in IT, retail and manufacturing paid 1.17 trillion rupees in total annually, the ISF said in a statement. The average salary of outsourced staff was 18,000 rupees a month along with social security benefits, and had grown by 3-4% per annum after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to industry estimates. Bhatia said if the GST tax rate on staffing services was lowered to 5% it could lead to the hiring of millions of contract workers formally through recruitment agencies and generate higher tax receipts over a period. The unemployment rate among those aged 15 to 29 years increased to 17% in India's urban areas in the first quarter of 2024, according to data released by the Statistics Ministry earlier this month, from 16.5% in the previous year. The unemployment rate among young women climbed to 22.7% and 15.1% among men, the government data showed, as more workers entered the job market.

A low pressure area is currently situated over the west central and adjoining South Bay of Bengal and This system is expected to intensify into a cyclonic storm by the morning of May 25th, according to India Meteorological Department. The cyclone is likely to approach the coasts of Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal by the evening of May 26th as a severe cyclonic storm. On Wednesday, the low pressure Area was observed over the Southwest and adjoining Westcentral Bay of Bengal and has since moved northeastwards, the IMD said. If the cyclone is formed, it will be named 'Remal', and it will be the first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal this pre-monsoon season.It is expected to develop into a Depression over the central Bay of Bengal by the morning of May 24th. Following this, it is expected to further intensify into a cyclonic storm over the Eastcentral Bay of Bengal by the morning of May 25th. The system will then move nearly northwards, reaching the vicinity of Bangladesh and the adjoining West Bengal coasts by the evening of May 26th as a severe cyclonic storm, the IMD said. Heavy Rainfall WarningOn May 26th and 27th, light to moderate rainfall is expected at most places, with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated locations, over the coastal districts of West Bengal and the adjoining districts of north Odisha, IMD said. Similarly, light to moderate rainfall is expected at most places, with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated locations, over Mizoram, Tripura, and South Manipur on May 26th and 27th.Wind Warning from IMDOn May 23rd, squally weather with wind speeds reaching 40-50 kmph, gusting to 60 kmph, is likely over the central and adjoining South Bay of Bengal. These winds are expected to increase to 50-60 kmph, gusting to 70 kmph, over the central Bay of Bengal on May 24th.From the morning of May 25th, the wind speeds are expected to extend to the adjoining areas of the North Bay of Bengal, reaching 60-70 kmph, gusting to 80 kmph. These speeds will further increase, becoming 100-110 kmph, gusting to 120 kmph, over the North Bay of Bengal and 70-80 kmph, gusting to 90 kmph, over the adjoining central Bay of Bengal from the morning of May 26th, lasting for the subsequent 24 hours.Squally winds with speeds of 40-50 kmph, gusting to 60 kmph, are likely along and off the coasts of Bangladesh, West Bengal, and adjoining North Odisha from the evening of May 25th.Squally winds with speeds reaching 40-50 kmph, gusting to 60 kmph, are expected over the Andaman Islands and the North Andaman Sea on May 23rd and 24th.Sea ConditionThe sea condition due to cyclone Remal is predicted to be rough to very rough over the central and adjoining South Bay of Bengal from May 23rd and over the North Bay of Bengal from the evening of May 24th. It will become high over the central Bay of Bengal from the morning of May 25th and high to very high over the North Bay of Bengal from the evening of May 25th until the morning of May 27th, according to IMD's forecast. Rough to very rough sea conditions are expected along and off the coasts of Bangladesh, West Bengal, and adjoining north Odisha from the evening of May 25th. The conditions will become high along and off the coasts of Bangladesh and West Bengal from noon on May 26th until the morning of May 27th.Rough to very rough sea conditions are expected over the Andaman Islands and the North Andaman Sea on May 23rd and 24th.Fishermen WarningFishermen have been advised not to venture into the South Bay of Bengal due to the possibility of cyclone Remal until May 24th, the Central Bay of Bengal until May 26th, and the North Bay of Bengal from May 24th onwards until the morning of May 27th. Fishermen already at sea are advised to return to the coast.Monsoon UpdateConditions are becoming favorable for the further advance of the Southwest Monsoon over more parts of the South Bay of Bengal, the remaining parts of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the Andaman Sea, and some parts of the Eastcentral Bay of Bengal during the next two days.