Shares to buy or sell: Ruchit Jain of Motilal Oswal recommends BEL, and ONGC amid US-Iran war jitters

Stock market today: The domestic benchmark indices, Nifty 50 and Sensex, extended their slump at the open on Wednesday, as escalating U.S.-Israel clashes with Iran lifted oil to a 19-month high, disrupted Middle East energy shipments and stoked fears of a prolonged conflict.

The Nifty 50 was down 1.92% at 24,388.8 and the BSE Sensex shed 2.13% to 78,528.82 as of 9:15 IST.

Domestic markets were closed on Tuesday, March 4 for Holi celebration. The benchmarks have lost about 2.5% each over the past two sessions.

The Indian rupee slid to a record low against the dollar while bond yields jumped as Middle East conflict kept oil prices elevated.

On Monday, Indian stock indices ended lower but made a significant recovery from earlier declines, in the context of rising tensions in West Asia. The Sensex finished at 80,238.85 points, down by 1,048.34 points or 1.29%, while the Nifty 50 closed at 24,865.70 points, decreasing by 312.95 points or 1.24%.

The India VIX, which measures market volatility, surged by an astonishing 25%. The Volatility Index represents the market's expectation of short-term volatility. Volatility is commonly defined as the "rate and magnitude of price changes," and in finance, it is often associated with risk.

Market Review and Outlook - Ruchit Jain, Head - Equity Technical Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services

The rising geopolitical tensions has led to a sell-off in the global equity markets and our markets too have seen breach of its important support recently. The short term trend for Nifty remains negative as factors like rising geopolitical tensions, rising crude prices, USDINR depreciation and FIIs selling are leading to a bearish momentum in equities.

The immediate support for Nifty 50 is placed around 24,330 which is the August 2025 lows and if the index sustains below this, then we could see a continuation of the down trend. We advise traders to stay cautious until we see any signs of trend reversal.

Shares to buy or sell today - Ruchit Jain

On shares to buy or sell on Wednesday, Ruchit Jain recommends Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC).

Buy BEL CMP of ₹454, SL at ₹428, Tgt at ₹500

The defense stock could see a positive momentum in the near term because of the ongoing war situation and within this sector, BEL has the strongest chart structure. This stock has relatively outperformed other stocks within the sector in last few months and is holding above its 50 DEMA support. Hence, short term traders can buy BEL with a stoploss below ₹428 for target around ₹500.

Buy ONGC CMP 282, SL at ₹270 Tgt at ₹300

ONGC has recently given a breakout from a year’s consolidation phase and has been forming a ‘Higher Top Higher Bottom’ structure. The rising crude oil prices also benefit the upstream companies and the technical structure is also bullish. Hence, short term traders can buy ONGC with a stoploss below ₹270 for target around ₹300.

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.