Bank Nifty extended its losing streak to four consecutive sessions on July 23, falling below the 57,000 mark amid broad-based weakness in banking stocks. The sectoral index was down 0.85% at 56,642.5 during the afternoon session, taking its cumulative decline to nearly 3.5% over the last four trading sessions.

Among the major constituents, IndusInd Bank emerged as the biggest laggard, declining around 6%, while AU Small Finance Bank also traded lower by about 1.45%, contributing to the weakness in the index.

According to Sachin Gupta, Vice President of Technical Research at Choice Broking, Bank Nifty has formed a large bearish candlestick and slipped below its 20-day Exponential Moving Average, indicating weakening short-term momentum. He expects the index to trade within a range of 56,300 to 57,700, while maintaining a sideways-to-bearish outlook.

Dhupesh Dhameja, Derivatives Research Analyst at SAMCO Securities, noted that the index has broken below the previous week's trading range after falling under the 57,285 level on the hourly chart. He added that the narrowing Bollinger Bands suggest the possibility of increased volatility ahead. The Relative Strength Index has dropped below the 50 mark for the first time in nearly two weeks, while the MACD histogram continues to indicate bearish momentum. He identified immediate resistance at 57,800, with support at 56,570 followed by a stronger support zone around 56,000.

Bajaj Broking Research highlighted that the 56,500 level remains a crucial support as it coincides with the 20-week Exponential Moving Average and the lower boundary of the index's six-week trading range. A sustained move below this level could expose Bank Nifty to further downside towards 55,500. On the upside, analysts believe a decisive breakout above 58,700 would be required to revive bullish momentum and potentially pave the way for gains towards 59,300 and eventually the 60,000 mark in the coming weeks.