Stock market recap: Market benchmarks, the Sensex and the Nifty 50, extended gains for the third consecutive session on Friday, 3 July, with IT and pharma stocks as the top gainers, amid mixed global cues.
The Sensex ended 262 points, or 0.34%, higher at 77,763.91, while the Nifty 50 rose by 95 points, or 0.39%, to end at 24,270.85.
Mid and small-cap segments underperformed; the Nifty Midcap 100 index slipped by 0.19%, while the Smallcap 100 index inched up by 0.04%.
With three consecutive sessions of gains, the Sensex has risen by nearly 1,300 points, or 1.7%. Nifty 50 has risen by more than 400 points, or 1.7% in three days.
For the week, the Sensex and the Nifty have risen by almost 1% each, extending gains for the fourth consecutive week.
Three stocks to trade, recommended by NeoTrader’s Raja Venkatraman
PARADEEP (current market price ₹146.59)
- Why it’s recommended: Paradeep Phosphates Ltd (PPL) is a leading Indian manufacturer of phosphatic fertilizers and complex plant nutrients. The stock has been in a steady upward trajectory in the last few days. After a slow and steady movement over the last few days the strong revival in sentiment buoyed by support from Cloud support. Long body candle with volume pushed prices above cloud region with some strong buying at lower levels. With Fertiliser sector showing some spirited revival once again one can consider to go long.
- Key metrics:
- P/E: 15.27,
- 52-week high: ₹234.39,
- Volume: 17.7M
- Technical analysis: Support at ₹125, resistance at ₹180.
- Risk factors: Vulnerability to government subsidy changes, volatility in global raw material prices, and agro-climatic disruptions like poor monsoons.
- Buy: above ₹148.
- Stop loss: ₹140.
- Target price: ₹162 (2 Months)
AADHARHFC (current market price ₹555.60)
- Why it’s recommended: AADHARHFC (Aadhar Housing Finance Ltd) is a prominent Indian housing finance company focused on providing small-ticket mortgage loans to economically weaker sections and low-income groups. After some consolidation the counter has shown some promise from March 2026 as Finance sector has started reviving. The steady climb in prices with support from the market showing signs of recovery has seen a swift upside indicating some upward trajectory. One can now look for some trends to carry the prices higher.
- Key metrics:
- P/E Ratio : 22.18,
- 52-week high: ₹547.80,
- Volume: 1.52M.
- Technical analysis: Support at ₹450, resistance at ₹800.
- Risk factors: Asset quality risks in the low-income segment, severe competition from traditional banks, interest rate fluctuations affecting net interest margins, and heavy reliance on government policies for affordable housing subsidies.
- Buy: above ₹557
- Stop loss: ₹529
- Target price: ₹615 (2 Months)
INDUSINDBK (current market price ₹974.35)
- Why it’s recommended:IndusInd Bank Ltd is a major Indian private sector bank headquartered in Mumbai. They provide diverse retail and corporate banking, vehicle finance, and microfinance services to over 42 million customers. After some consolidation the counter has shown some promise from March 2026 as Banking sector has started reviving. The steady climb in prices with support from the market showing signs of recovery has seen a swift upside indicating some upward trajectory. One can now look for some trends to carry the prices higher.
- Key metrics:
- P/E Ratio : 81.34,
- 52-week high: ₹978,
- Volume: 3.82M.
- Technical analysis: Support at ₹900, resistance at ₹1200.
- Risk factors: Recent governance controversies, high exposure to unsecured loans, and vulnerability to central bank regulations.
- Buy: above ₹980
- Stop loss: ₹940
- Target price: ₹1070 (2 Months)
How the stock market performed on Friday
Indian markets extended their winning streak on Friday, 3 July, notching a fourth straight weekly gain as softer US jobs data and easing oil prices reduced near-term Fed rate-hike worries. The Sensex rose 0.34% to 77,763.91, while the Nifty 50 advanced 0.39% to 24,270.85. For the week, the benchmarks added nearly 1%, taking four-week gains to 4.7% and 3.9%.
The relief was most visible in IT stocks, which snapped a five-week losing run, with the Nifty IT index up 1.8% on Friday and 0.4% for the week. Brent crude hovered near $72 a barrel, down 43% from its Iran-war peak, easing inflation and deficit concerns. Pharma stocks gained 3.1%, while small-caps and mid-caps rose 2.1% and 0.6%. Eicher Motors bucked the trend, sliding 3.4% on EV policy worries. Electrical equipment firms also fell after the government allowed Chinese players into procurement bids. Investors now await June-quarter earnings for the next catalyst.
Outlook for trading
The anxiety of the trends to sustain above 24000 was laid to rest as the market realigned its forces to stage a strong rise over the past few days. Now we are faced with the challenge to retain the good work done in the past few weeks. The start to September series has been quite stellar and now we have a reinstated bullish bias that continues to progress higher towards the 24800 zone.
The mood is definitely bullish and the swift advance from near 23000 towards 24300 has been quite overwhelming. The time for reacting to this volatile rise in a matter of one month has been quite swift. Hence, we would advocate that we are entering a phase where there is possibility where the factors that are aiding the positive market sentiment like cooling down of oil prices, AI rally taking a pause and the onset of monsoon that could blow some encouraging tailwinds in the favour of the bullish camp.
The current breakout that is getting set or gradually display a reaction to buy into. The strong move seen across the board has now pushed the market into a dip buy mode. Since the low in start of June which was a higher low the market has offered many opportunities to get into the train, sadly most of them have not been capitalized.
This is characterized by the upward gap on Daily charts at periodic intervals indicating that the fence sitters have all jumped into the bandwagon. At this juncture there arises a question – Is there possibility of continued advances? The answer is yes as the overall positive setup seen across the board signals that the markets are reacting to a string of positive developments been shown on the economic development front. With a reasonably appealing macro numbers and the government has once again focused on developing India to a powerful nation thus generating some positive vibes across the board.
As the charts highlighted yesterday, we have been tracking the median line above which Nifty has managed to close on the daily chart. Also, the Relative Strength Index has shown an intent to move higher which is supported by the Open Interest data that has now stepped to 24100. The breach mentioned earlier did happen indicating that the trends remain delicately poised.
The best approach is to continue to look at a 30-minute range breakout on Friday as we can consider to trade on either side as the trends still remain tentative where we expect some resistances to kick in.
While the trends in the indices are still developing there is plenty of action as far as the stocks are concerned. We should now restrain from entering short positions in the Nifty and as the recent move above 24000. One can maintain that , viewing any sustained move below 23800 would be a level as a clear sign that bullish conviction is waning. With Max Pain at 24100 the resistances have now moved to 24500, while open interest shows that the road ahead is more open.
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.