Buy or sell stocks: The key benchmark indices of the Indian stock market experienced a choppy trading session on Thursday, ultimately ending with marginal gains. The Nifty50 kicked off on a firm footing, buoyed by broad-based optimism following sweeping GST reforms, which were perceived as a significant structural tax overhaul. The initial up move was driven by robust buying interest in auto and consumer staples. However, as the session progressed, profit-booking at higher levels and underperformance in select index heavyweights capped the upside. The Nifty50 settled at 24,734.30, up 19.25 points or 0.08%.
Sectorally, the Nifty Auto index outperformed with gains of nearly 1%, while the FMCG pack posted modest gains of 0.25%. On the flip side, selling pressure persisted in IT, metals, oil & gas, realty, power, and PSU banks — each shedding between 0.5% and 1%. The broader markets underperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices declining by 0.6% each, reflecting a risk-off sentiment among investors toward non-index constituents.
Stock market today
Vaishali Parekh, Vice President of Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher, believes the Indian stock market bias is optimistic even though the Nifty 50 index pared its morning gains and closed below 24,800 after breaching this 50-DEMA hurdle in early morning deals. The Prabhudas Lilladher expert said the key benchmark index is still in the 24,500 to 24,800 range. A bullish or bearish trend can be assumed on the breakage of either side of this range.
Speaking on the outlook of the Nifty 50 index, Vaishali Parekh said, “The Nifty 50 index, after opening on a strong note, fizzled out as the day progressed, with profit booking witnessed to erase the entire gain and closed on a flat note with bias overall maintained optimistic. We need to check in the coming sessions whether it can decisively breach above the important 50-DEMA level at the 24,800 zone to establish conviction. As mentioned earlier, the 24,500 zone shall continue to remain as the important support zone for the index.”
On the outlook of the Bank Nifty index, Parekh said, “The Bank Nifty index erased the early gains and slipped to end on a flat note with HDFC Bank among the lone participants, which is looking capable of a pullback in the coming days with bias improving and indicating a good upside move. As said earlier, the index would need a decisive move past the 55,000 zone to improve the bias overall and anticipate a fresh upward move in the coming days.”
Parekh said that immediate support for the Nifty 50 index is placed at 24,600, while the resistance is seen at 24,900. The Bank Nifty would have the daily range of 53,600 to 54,800.
Vaishali Parekh’s stock recommendations today
Regarding intraday stocks to buy today, Vaishali Parekh recommended these three buy-or-sell stocks: Vascon Engineers, Apollo Hospitals, and LT Foods.
1] Vascon Engineers: Buy at ₹53, Target ₹57, Stop Loss ₹51;
2] Apollo Hospitals: Buy at ₹7891, Target ₹8020, Stop Loss ₹7750; and
3] LT Foods: Buy at ₹225, Target ₹235, Stop Loss ₹220.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts or brokerage companies, not Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
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