Mumbai, Dec 15 : The Bank Nifty bulls are maintaining their robust momentum, pushing the index beyond the 48,000-level, Kunal Shah, Senior Technical & Derivative Analyst at LKP Securities, said on Friday. The overall market sentiment remains bullish, supported by a strong base at 47,500. Any retracement towards this support level is seen as buying opportunities. The upside potential for the index is projected to reach 50,000, indicating continued optimism among market participants, Shah said. Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said the buoyancy continued in the market as investors were expecting the clouds over US economic growth to recede by H2CY24 and that the economy would achieve a soft landing aided by normalisation in monetary policy. The USD/INR witnessed a steep fall on account of the prospects of interest rates being cut next year. The IT index outperformed expectations of a rise in demand in the US economy. /IANS