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Market Structure
Updated 2025-06-04·Editorial policy·Trading system

What is Upper Circuit?

Upper circuit is exchange price band halting further upside when hit — often 5–20% bands.

Formula

Upper Circuit Example: Previous Close: ₹100 Circuit Band: 10% Upper Circuit: ₹110 (+10%) Lower Circuit: ₹90 (-10%) Scenario: 9:15 AM: Opens at ₹102 9:30 AM: Rises to ₹105 9:45 AM: Strong buying pushes to ₹110 9:46 AM: Hits upper circuit 9:47 AM onwards: Price stuck at ₹110 Order Book at ₹110: Buy Orders: 500,000 shares (queued) Sell Orders: 2,000 shares (selling) Most buyers won't get filled

Indian market context (NSE)

Reference levels: Nifty 50 at 24,300, Reliance Industries at ₹1,300, Bank Nifty futures at 55,000 (lot size 30). Examples below show how Upper Circuit shows up on Indian index, equity, and futures books — update to live quotes in your journal.

Nifty 50 perspective

Upper Circuit on NSE cash and Nifty (24,300): co-movement with global futures (SGX/GIFT) affects open print — log pre-market cue in journal.

Bank Nifty futures perspective

Upper Circuit visible in Bank Nifty depth at 55,000: banking basket drives ~40% of index move; watch HDFC/ICICI/Kotak contribution when interpreting upper circuit.

How to validate

  • Validate Upper Circuit readings by session tag — open hour stats differ from midday.
  • Check behaviour on gap-up/gap-down days separately on Nifty tags.
  • Correlate with India VIX buckets (calm vs elevated) before changing rules.
  • Confirm liquidity notes were filled on fast-market days.

How to track in TradeLyser

  • Tag session phase and liquidity state on each trade influenced by Upper Circuit.
  • Daily journal: one line on market structure context (gap, range, trend).
  • Filter analytics by session tag during monthly review.
  • Note India VIX at session open when structure rules depend on volatility.

Best practices

  • Pre-define how Upper Circuit maps to session tags each quarter.
  • Reduce size on expiry and event sessions when structure breaks.
  • Journal gap days explicitly — averages hide gap risk.
  • Align structure tags with India cash session hours (9:15–15:30).

Common pitfalls

  • Applying midday rules to the opening 15 minutes without adjustment.
  • Trading illiquid names with the same Upper Circuit assumptions as Nifty.
  • Forgetting overnight gap risk on “intraday” tags.
  • Over-tagging — so many structure labels that review becomes noise.

How to use this in TradeLyser

Tag circuit-hit stocks; avoid new entries into upper circuit without plan.

Related terms

FAQ

Sell at upper circuit?

Possible if queue — do not assume fill.

Circuit stock next day?

Gap risk — separate tag.

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