Buy or sell stocks: After three straight days of rally, the Indian stock market bulls took a breather as benchmark indices settled on a flat note ahead of the Bihar election outcome.
According to analysts, while the stock market sentiment remains firm amid the end of the US government shutdown, hopes of tariff relief for India, low inflation print, investors booked profits ahead of the Bihar election results. Selling by foreign investors and a weak rupee also weighed on indices.
After oscillating between gains and losses during the day, the 30-share BSE barometer Sensex ended higher by just 12 points, or 0.01%, at 84,479. At the same time, the broader NSE Nifty closed the session in green with just 3.35, or 0.01%, up at 25,879.15.
Stock market today
Vaishali Parekh, Vice President of Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher, said that though the index crossed the 26,000 briefly in trade today, a decisive move ahead hinges on Nifty 50 crossing the 26100 level.
Nifty witnessed a volatile session scaling the 26000 zone during the intraday session but fizzled out in the second half to wipe off the gains and closed on a flat note on the back of an anxious approach ahead of the election outcome, said Parekh.
“The index has witnessed a decent pullback from the 25350 zone to improve the bias and further, a decisive move past the 26100 is necessary to carry on with the positive move further ahead, having the near-term support zone at the 25700 level, which needs to be sustained to maintain the overall bias intact,” Prabhudas Lilladher analyst added.
As for the Bank Nifty index, Parekh said that the index witnessed another attempt to move past the tough hurdle of the 58500 zone, but failed once again with profit booking seen. However, the index closed near the 58400 zone, with bias still positive.
“As mentioned earlier, the index desperately would need to move past the rangebound barrier of 58500 level to trigger for a breakout with the important and crucial support positioned near the 50EMA at 56800 level which needs to be sustained. The support for the day is seen at 25700 levels, while the resistance is seen at 26100 levels. BankNifty would have the daily range of 57800-59000 levels,” the analyst said while noting the key levels for the index.
Vaishali Parekh’s stock recommendations today
Regarding intraday stocks for today, Vaishali Parekh of Prabhudas Lilladher recommends three stocks to buy: Varun Beverages, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Fertilisers And Chemicals Travancore (FACT).
1. Varun Beverages: Sell at ₹455 | Target at ₹440 | Stop loss at ₹462
2. BHEL: Sell at ₹285 | Target at ₹278 | Stop loss at ₹290
3. FACT: Buy at ₹907 | Target at ₹940 | Stop loss at ₹880