Stocks to buy under ₹200: On Friday, the Indian stock market concluded largely unchanged after a volatile trading day, with the Sensex dropping slightly by about 95 points and the Nifty 50 remaining just below the 25,500 mark.

On Friday, the Sensex declined 94.73 points, or 0.11%, to settle at 83,216.28, while Nifty 50 dipped 17.40 points, or 0.07%, to 25,492.30.

According to experts, this flat finish was primarily driven by mixed investor sentiment amidst ongoing selling by foreign institutional investors, along with cautious support from domestic institutional investors that helped mitigate declines. Dull global indicators, particularly from weakened technology and AI stocks in the US markets, also played a role in the lackluster trading environment.

Furthermore, profit-taking pressures continued, especially in sectors such as financials and real estate, while the metals sector showed resilience and offered some stability to the indexes.

Stock Market Outlook

Nifty 50 levels to watch out for: 25,600 – 26,000 / 25,300 – 25,0500

Mehul Kothari, Deputy Vice President — Technical Research at Anand Rathi said that although truncated, it was a highly volatile week for the domestic markets as the benchmark indices once again remained under pressure. If we talk about the Nifty 50, the index nosedived towards the 25,300 mark; however, a sharp recovery during the second half of Friday’s session helped it reclaim the 25,500 mark. The index eventually ended the week with a marginal loss. The broader markets too faced heavy selling pressure, but even they managed to recover towards the end.

Kothari believes that technically, the correction from the recent top of 26,100 was already expected since Nifty 50 had rallied over 1,500 points in a very short span. However, the intensity of the correction in the broader markets was disappointing.

“As of now, the Nifty 50 has retraced nearly 50% of the entire rally that began from 24,600 to 26,100. Interestingly, on Friday, the index found support exactly at the extension of the bullish Cup & Handle pattern breakout,” said Mehul Kothari.

Going ahead, Mehul believes that a move above 25,600 would confirm that the upside is about to resume and the pullback phase is over. In that case, 25,800 – 26,000 would act as immediate hurdles, but we would still expect a gradual move towards new highs.

“On the contrary, a breach of 25,300 might drag the index towards the 25,100 – 25,000 zone, which is a strong support area formed by the rising trendline — making it the worst-case scenario for now. Traders are advised to start accumulating index ETFs from current levels. We particularly like NIFTY BEES, along with ETFs tracking the Nifty 500 and Nifty Smallcap 250 indices,” said Mehul.

Bank Nifty Outlook

According to Mehul Kothari, the Bank Nifty index dipped towards the 57,000 mark during the week but eventually ended on a flat note. On the daily chart, the index has formed a bullish engulfing pattern, indicating the possibility of a reversal or continuation of the broader uptrend. A close above 58,000 in the coming sessions could trigger fresh momentum, potentially driving the index towards the 60,000 mark gradually.

“On the contrary, a breach of 57,000 would likely invite further pressure on banking stocks, leading to short-term weakness. Overall, the structure remains bullish with a positive bias, as long as 57,000 holds as support,” said Mehul Kothari.

Mehul Kothari’s stock recommendations

Regarding stocks to buy under ₹200, Mehul Kothari of Anand Rathi recommended buying these three buy or sell stocks: Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), Bank of Maharashtra, and Castrol India Ltd.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL): Buy at ₹172; Stop Loss: ₹162; Target Price: ₹192

Bank of Maharashtra: Buy at ₹59; Stop Loss: ₹56; Target Price: ₹64

Castrol India Ltd: Buy at ₹190; Stop Loss: ₹185; Target Price: ₹200

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.