Stock market recap: Between 10 and 14 August, the markets witnessed a phase of consolidation marked by volatility and cautious investor sentiment. The Nifty 50 slipped 0.8% to close at 24,366, while the Sensex lost 0.6% to settle at 78,009, reflecting profit-taking after recent gains.
Three stocks to trade, recommended by NeoTrader’s Raja Venkatraman:
SUMICHEM (Cmp 564.95)
- Why it’s recommended: Sumitomo Chemical India is a prominent Mumbai-headquartered agrochemical and specialty products company incorporated in 2000. Despite steady profit booking, the prices are taking support at the Tenkan Sen and Kijun Sen lines and are slowly heading higher. The strong Q1 numbers and the sector revival are adding to the buying interest that is generating a upward bias. The burst of volume above its value area resistance 490 has been attracting some buying interest to stage a fresh breakout. With the Relative Strength Index firmly above 60, it can lead to some strong upward move in the coming weeks. Go long.
- Key metrics:
- P/E Ratio: 48.61
- 52-week high: ₹617.50,
- Volume: 487.67K
- Technical analysis: Support at ₹480, resistance at ₹650.
- Risk factors: Risks tied to weather dependency, raw material cost volatility, regulatory shifts, and global agrochemical pricing
- Buy: above ₹567.
- Stop loss: ₹535.
- Target price: ₹625 (2 Months)
HAVELLS (Cmp 1298)
- Why it’s recommended: Havells India is a top fast-moving electrical goods (FMEG) company and power distribution equipment maker based in Noida, India. offering home appliances, cables, wires, lighting, fans, and switchgear. After declining for almost a year, prices are turning around, with a strong revival evident here. Some help with a sector turnaround is visible. A rounding pattern breakout with some steady volumes, which indicates that the steady muted results over the last few quarters have started getting discounted in the recovery, clearly indicating that the trends are now reviving. Consider going long
- Key metrics:
- P/E: 49.32,
- 52-week high: ₹1622.70,
- Volume: 834.72K.
- Technical analysis: Support at ₹1200, resistance at ₹1500.
- Risk factors: Raw material price volatility (copper, aluminium), seasonal demand swings affecting cooling and Lloyd consumer products, intense competition in the electrical and consumer durables sector.
- Buy: above ₹1300
- Stop loss: ₹1240
- Target price: ₹1425 (2 Months)
HONASA (Cmp 502.80)
- Why it’s recommended: Honasa Consumer is an Indian digital-first house of brands in the beauty and personal care sector. The stock has been experiencing volatility but is slowly and steadily climbing higher. After a brief consolidation , the strong Q1 results have once again given a new phase of life to the prices. The rounding at higher levels and the gap up is now indicating a potential to move higher. Taking a look at the Relative Strength Index we can note that there is no sign of let up in momentum. A break above 480 could now be a key event that is now initiating us to go long.
- Key metrics:
- P/E Ratio: 69.68
- 52-week high: ₹509.90
- Volume: 22.43M
- Technical analysis: Support at ₹420, resistance at ₹610.
- Risk factors: Flagship Dependency, No-Owned Factories, and Distribution Scaling Bottlenecks.
- Buy: above ₹505.
- Stop loss: ₹480.
- Target price: ₹570.
Stock Market Recap
Between 10 August and 14 August, the NSE witnessed a phase of consolidation marked by volatility and cautious investor sentiment. The Nifty 50 slipped 0.8% to close at 24,366, while the Sensex lost 0.6% to settle at 78,009, reflecting profit-taking after recent gains. Sectoral performance was mixed: IT and consumer discretionary stocks showed resilience on the back of strong quarterly updates and expectations of softer U.S. interest rates, while financials, realty, and energy lagged due to crude oil volatility and cautious credit outlooks.
Auto stocks saw selective buying, but Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles fell sharply after reporting weak earnings, whereas LG Electronics India surged on robust results. Global cues added uncertainty, with the U.S. Fed’s softer stance on rate hikes offering some relief, but geopolitical tensions in West Asia and crude prices near $87 per barrel kept traders on edge. Foreign investors extended their selling streak, offloading equities worth over ₹500 crore, while domestic institutions provided support to limit losses. The rupee remained under pressure, hovering near 95.41 per USD.
Outlook for Trading
Despite the best attempt, the indices had a volatile trading session that could lead to more demands from the market. Currently, the bullish resolve is showing more promise and holding the indices. With Nifty and Bank Nifty showing some signs of revival, we can see that the higher levels are bringing in some hurdles to contain the strong upward drive.
Large-scale volatility shall continue to demonstrate that the trends need more triggers as they are currently taking a breather post the recent swings on either side. While intraday action remains limited, every dip is seeing some bullishness. Overall, the momentum and sentiment are buoyant, and the unexpected stretch of positive vibes has begun to spread across the sectors.
Technically, the Nifty formed a weekly Doji candle, signalling indecision between buyers and sellers. Analysts identified 24,300–24,400 as strong support and 24,700–24,800 as critical resistance, with a breakout above 24,800 potentially opening the path toward 25,000–25,200, while a failure to hold above 24,300 could trigger a slide toward 24,200. Options positioning reinforced this range-bound outlook, suggesting traders preferred caution until clarity emerged on crude prices and geopolitical developments. Overall, the week highlighted consolidation, resilience in select sectors, and persistent global headwinds, leaving the market range-bound with a cautious bias.
The macro news remains a slow trigger; the broader indices over the last two days have seen indices gap up and sustain. This has led to some stock-specific action. This rejuvenated attempt has revived the bullish bias despite minor hiccups.
The steadily higher lows this week have given some confidence; however, the lack of acceleration has left many participants disappointed. We can now see that the valuations as well as the results are going for a toss, and almost every metric of measurement is saying that a recovery is in progress. As the market unravels, the next steps we need to take are to trade in a systematic way.
BankNifty too remained muted, indicating that the positive vibes are not being witnessed, thus unable to really step up the momentum. PSU banks are faring much better than the Private bank peers and are now showing some promise. While we are awaiting some resurgence of the trends, triggers may give a push higher, which could emerge in the coming week.
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.