Buy or sell stocks for today: Following a tech-fuelled sell-off in the US stock market, the Indian stock market ended lower for the fifth straight session on Thursday. The Nifty 50 index ended almost flat at the 24,416 mark; the BSE Sensex lost 109 points and closed at 80,039, whereas the Bank Nifty index crashed 423 points and finished at 50,893. Cash market volumes on the NSE were about 6 percent lower than the previous day. The broad market indices aligned with the Nifty even as the advance-decline ratio fell to 0.94:1.
Vaishali Parekh, Vice President—Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher, feels the Nifty 50 index needs to sustain above 24,200 to keep the Indian stock market's bias intact. The Prabhudas Lilladher expert said that a decisive breach above 24,600 would improve the bias again. Vaishali Parekh noted that the Nifty Bank trend weakened after the decisive breach below 51,000.
Regarding stocks to buy today, Vaishali Parekh of Prabhudas Lilladher recommended buying these three buy-or-sell stocks: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Varun Beverages, and Biocon.
On the outlook for the Nifty 50 index, Vaishali Parekh said, "The Nifty 50 index has been witnessing a gradual slide since the last 3-4 sessions, with the 24,200 zone maintained as the important near-term support, which needs to be sustained for the bias to remain intact. A decisive breach above 24,600 would improve the bias again, anticipating a further rise to retest the previous peak zone of 24,850 in the coming days."
"The Bank Nifty index, with a close below the 51,000 zones, has slightly weakened the bias and would need a significant recovery above the 52,000 levels to improve the bias and thereafter expect a further rise. On the downside, the next major support lies near the 49,700 zone, which needs to be sustained to maintain the overall trend intact," said Parekh.
Parekh added that the Nifty today has immediate support at 24,300 and resistance at 24,600. The Bank Nifty would have a daily range of 50,400 to 51,400.
1] IOC: Buy at ₹177, target ₹185, stop loss ₹173;
2] Varun Beverages: Buy at ₹1652, target ₹1720, stop loss ₹1620; and
3] Biocon: Buy at ₹362, target ₹380, stop loss ₹353.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, not Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.