“Nifty reached near 17,700 and we started witnessing some softness in the markets. We maintain our stance that 17,600 – 17,800 would be a tough nut to crack since we have a gap area near 17,500 – 17,600, which is now filled and the upper end of the falling channel is near 17,700 mark. Thus traders are advised to book their longs in index near the mentioned zone,” said Mehul Kothari, AVP-Technical Research, Anand Rathi.