Stocks to buy in the short term: Indian equity markets extended their gains for most of the week, with the Sensex and Nifty rising for five straight sessions amid easing geopolitical tensions after the US-Iran peace agreement. The development triggered a decline in crude oil prices, easing concerns over imported inflation and improving investor sentiment toward Indian equities.
The Nifty climbed from the 23,100–23,500 range to touch highs of 24,168 during the week, while the Sensex crossed the 77,000 mark. The rally was led by cyclical sectors such as Metals, PSU Banks and Capital Goods, supported by favourable global cues and improving risk appetite.
However, the momentum reversed sharply on Friday as information technology stocks came under intense selling pressure. The Nifty IT index slumped nearly 6% following weak global technology cues and concerns sparked by Accenture’s reduced growth outlook. The selloff weighed heavily on benchmark indices, with the Sensex shedding more than 700 points and the Nifty slipping below the 24,000 level intraday. On Friday, the Sensex ended 607.08 points, or 0.78%, lower at 76,802.90, while the Nifty 50 declined 154.90 points, or 0.64%, to close at 24,013.10.
Despite the late-week correction, both benchmark indices ended the week with gains of more than 1.5%, underscoring the market’s resilience even as investors remained cautious about global technology demand and foreign institutional investor (FII) activity.
Stock Market Outlook
Levels to Watch: 24,200–24,600/23,600–23,300
Mehul Kothari, Deputy Vice President — Technical Research at Anand Rathi, noted that this week began on a strong note as the Nifty successfully broke above the major falling trendline resistance placed near the 23,800 mark, confirming the positive shift in market structure.
He pointed out that following the breakout, the index rallied towards the 24,150 zone, which had been identified as the next key hurdle. While the Nifty managed to surpass this level on an intraday basis, it is yet to deliver a convincing closing breakout above 24,100–24,150, which remains crucial for confirming the next leg of the uptrend. The latter part of the week saw some profit booking, with the index correcting towards the 23,900 zone, but importantly, the overall structure continues to remain constructive, added the expert.
“We continue to maintain that a decisive move and close above 24,100–24,150 could trigger a fresh rally and open the path towards the higher targets discussed in our earlier outlooks. On the downside, there exists a gap support zone between 23,700 and 23,500, which also coincides with a potential retest of the recent trendline breakout area. Any correction towards this region should be viewed within the context of a healthy pullback rather than a trend reversal. Therefore, despite near-term volatility, our stance remains unchanged — buy on dips continues to be the preferred strategy as long as the broader market structure remains intact and key support zones hold,” suggested Kothari.
For Bank Nifty, he noted that it continued to remain resilient this week and gained nearly 1.5%, although it did not outperform the broader market as it had already delivered substantial outperformance over the previous few weeks.
“In line with our expectations, the 57,500–58,000 zone acted as a strong hurdle for the index, as this region coincides with a previous swing high, a gap area, and a significant supply zone. While some consolidation around these levels is not surprising, the broader structure remains positive. We continue to maintain a constructive view on the index, but for Bank Nifty to resume its next leg of the uptrend and move towards new highs above 62,000, it will need to decisively surpass the 58,000 resistance zone.
On the downside, immediate support has shifted higher to 57,000, and a move below this level could result in some short-term profit booking. However, such a correction is likely to be temporary in nature, with stronger support placed in the 56,000–55,500 zone. As long as these support levels remain intact, we continue to favour a buy-on-dips approach and expect Bank Nifty to remain structurally strong over the medium term,” he predicted.
Mehul Kothari’s stock recommendations today under ₹200
Regarding stocks to buy under ₹200, Mehul Kothari recommended these three short-term picks: MRPL, Reliance Power, and GMR Airports.
1) BUY Indian Overseas Bank near ₹35, Stop Loss ₹33, Target ₹39
2) BUY Motherson Sumi Wiring near ₹38, Stop Loss ₹36.30, Target ₹41.4
3) BUY Sapphire Foods near ₹187, Stop Loss ₹175, Target ₹210.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
