Stock market recap: The Indian stock markets closed lower on Friday, 30 January, as various factors led to widespread selling across different sectors. The Sensex dropped approximately 0.35% to finish close to 82,269, while the Nifty 50 fell 0.40% to 25,320.
According to experts, the decline was influenced by profit-taking in anticipation of the Union Budget, a significant drop in commodity prices, and weak signals from global markets, which collectively led to a cautious investor sentiment.
Investors will now focus on the Union Budget scheduled for Sunday, 1 February. The markets will function in a special trading session.
Best stocks to buy on 1 February (All Buy trades are rates of Equity & Sell rates are based on F&O)
M&M FIN: Buy above ₹380, stop ₹360 target ₹415 (Multiday)
UNION BANK: Buy above ₹182, stop ₹175 target ₹198 (Multiday)
GRINFRA: Buy above ₹970, stop ₹935 target ₹1110 (Multiday)
Stock market performance | 30 January
On 30 January, the Nifty 50 index the markets were primed with lot of expectations ahead of the Budget 2026 but could not live up to the expectations. Especially some expectations from the banking sector, but the pressure on the markets persisted resulting in the trends giving up the bullish sentiment. The Nifty 50 could not see follow-through buying interest on January 30 and snapped its three-day winning streak amid consolidation ahead of the Union Budget 2026, the much-awaited key economic event scheduled to be presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 1 February.
The index faced stiff resistance around the 25500 zone, preventing any sustained recovery. Despite attempts at a rebound, weakness in heavyweight stocks kept sentiment subdued. However, the week ended favourably in favor of the bullish camp in the lead up to the Budget.
Outlook for Trading
The inability to retain the bullish resolve is now hurting Nifty and playing as an impediment to sustain the strong upward drive. The volatile scenario continues to hamper the trends as they are currently taking a breather in the recent moves. The sudden intraday collapse is attracting some bearishness. Currently overall momentum and sentiment is buoyant but the unexpected stretch of positive vibe has begun attracting some hesitation. The inability of macro news triggers to generate some momentum the broader indices over the last three days has seen indices retrace and has led to some stock specific action. However, the bullish camp has managed to revive the bullish bias despite the minor hiccups.
It has been one more week of advances and ever since November, the run has taken on an acceleration that has left many participants quite breathless. With the rate cut not attracting much attention the trends are reflecting that the much-awaited event of RBI was already factored in. We can now see that the valuations are going for a toss and almost every metric of measurement is saying that a downward reaction is due once again. However, the market remains muted despite all important events are passing us by.
The Bank Nifty made it past the 60000 levels and managed to hold on to those levels since. This is a positive. As discussed earlier, the topping of previous highs is still in balance for the Bank Nifty. Even the small and midcap indices or the NSE 500 are all significantly lower from its all-time highs. So, lack of continuation to upside is being watched for. PSU banks were under pressure during the week and dipped lower but what move the needle for the Bank Nifty are the private banks and those were seen somewhat contained in their bullishness, for whatever reasons.
At the moment the prices have rebounded from supports around 24900-25000, the road ahead could remain challenging as decoding the events that are coming up will be a challenge in itself. Looking at the Option Chain, the scenarios still highlight certain levels that are still circumspect and are witnessing show limited market participation. Nifty continues to move towards the next resistance around 25500 mark while Bank Nifty aims to clear 60000 as Options data that maintains that the trends could be stretched.
Three stocks to trade, recommended by NeoTrader’s Raja Venkatraman:
M&MFIN (current market price ₹375.55) - Buy above ₹380, stop ₹360 target ₹415 (Multiday)
- Why it’s recommended: Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Ltd (M&MFIN) is a major Indian non-banking financial company (NBFC) headquartered in Mumbai, primarily offering financing for vehicles in rural and semi-urban markets. After consolidating for a while, the prices tread into strong cloud supports has rebounded strongly on Thursday. The upthrust seen here could result in some continued upward drive. The revival has surpassed the cloud region and a strong upside has emerged in the last trading session.
- Key metrics:
- P/E Ratio: 21.12
- 52-week high: ₹412.30
- Volume: 4.37M
- Technical analysis: Support at ₹350, resistance at ₹450.
- Risk factors: high exposure to the rural economy, significant financial leverage, and competitive pressures on profitability.
- Buy : above ₹380.
- Stop loss: ₹360.
- Target price: ₹415. (2 Months)
Union Bank of India (current market price ₹180.76) - Buy above ₹182, stop ₹175 target ₹198 (Multiday)
- Why it’s recommended: Union Bank of India is a leading Indian public sector bank headquartered in Mumbai providing a wide range of financial services. A robust Q3 has ensured that the recent highs are not given up and recent dips that are emerging to stage a sharp revival leading to a strong upward traction. The long body candle seen on Friday despite some volatility highlights that we can look for a push to higher levels. Go long now.
- Key metrics:
- P/E: 34,
- 52-week high: ₹4170,
- Volume: 15.74M.
- Technical analysis: Support at ₹165, resistance at ₹220.
- Risk factors: Credit quality (MSME/retail defaults), market volatility (interest rates, competition), cyber threats, regulatory changes, and execution of digital strategy.
- Buy : above ₹182
- Stop loss: ₹175
- Target price: ₹198 (2 Months)
GRINFRA (current market price ₹964.35) -Buy above ₹970, stop ₹935 target ₹1110 (Multiday)
- Why it’s recommended: G R Infraprojects Ltd (GRIL) is a prominent Indian infrastructure company specializing in the road engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) sector. After a steep selloff the stock is seen reviving. The intraday charts reveal that the trends ahead could shape up with new projects emerging. With steady support from ADX and DMI now fuelling some upside the Budget could provide some fuel. The volume surge seen is now hinting at some potential upward traction. Go long.
- Key metrics:
- P/E Ratio: 10.48
- 52-week high: ₹1441.60
- Volume: 83.51K
- Technical analysis: Support at ₹900, resistance at ₹1500.
- Risk factors: Volatile raw material , power/water supply, potential labor disputes.
- Buy : above ₹970.
- Stop loss: ₹935.
- Target price: ₹1110.
Raja Venkatraman is co-founder, NeoTrader. His Sebi-registered research analyst registration no. is INH000016223.
Investments in securities are subject to market risks. Read all the related documents carefully before investing. Registration granted by Sebi and certification from NISM in no way guarantees performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.