Indian equity benchmarks traded firmly higher on Wednesday, demonstrating resilience despite renewed tensions between the United States and Iran. According to reports from LiveMint, the Nifty 50 increased by 0.5% to 23,352.40 and the BSE Sensex gained 0.7% to 74,387.03 as of 14:00 IST. The broader market mood remained constructive, with most sectoral indices trading in the green, signalling widespread buying. Defensive sectors led the advance, with FMCG stocks emerging as the top gainers, while financial services, information technology, and oil & gas counters also contributed to the upmove.
According to LiveMint reports, Ruchit Jain, Head - Equity Technical Research, Wealth Management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, noted that the Nifty 50 has traded within a range over the last few sessions, suggesting it is in a consolidation phase. The index has found support around the 23,100-23,000 zone, which is the 61.8% retracement level of the previous upmove from 22,182 to 24,600. On the higher side, the 20 DEMA hurdle is at 23,550 and the 50 DEMA is at 23,860. Jain expects the index to consolidate within this range in the near term, advising a stock-specific approach and looking for sectors and stocks showing relative outperformance.
As reported by LiveMint, Jain recommends Grasim Industries Ltd as a buy for the short term. The stock had recently broken out of a long consolidation following its quarterly results announcement, supported by high volume. The stock is now showing signs of resuming its momentum from the 20 DEMA support. Positional traders can look to buy the stock around the current market price of ₹3,108, targeting a potential upside of around ₹3,250. The stop loss on long positions should be placed below ₹3,034.
According to LiveMint reports, Jain recommends Bank of Maharashtra as another short-term investment opportunity. The PSU Banking space has started showing a positive trend post a corrective phase, and within the sectoral stocks, Bank of Maharashtra seems to have completed its time-wise corrective phase and has resumed its uptrend. The stock has been a relative outperformer in the sector recently and could see near-term momentum. Short-term traders can buy the stock at ₹84-83, with a potential target of around ₹93. The stop loss on long positions should be placed below ₹79.
