Stocks to buy: Nagaraj Shetti recommends Bank of Maharashtra, Hindustan Copper shares to buy in the short-term

Stock market news: Indian equities remained under pressure in afternoon trade on Thursday, with the benchmark indices heading for a third consecutive session of decline, as stalled Middle East peace efforts kept crude oil prices elevated and weighed on investor sentiment.

Iran and the US remained at odds over efforts to reach a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim agreement reached in June.

At around 12:55 IST, the Nifty 50 was down 0.28% at 24,368.75, while the BSE Sensex was largely flat at 77,892.50. Both indices have declined around 1% from Monday's close.

Brent crude futures were trading near $88.5 per barrel, raising concerns over the impact of higher energy costs on India's inflation, economic growth, fiscal position and current account balance.

Meanwhile, India's retail inflation accelerated to 4.45% in July, according to data released after market hours on Wednesday.

Among individual stocks, Reliance Industries declined 1.1% after MSCI reduced the stock's weight in its key index.

Market Views - Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst of HDFC Securities

Nifty 50

The downside momentum continued in the market amidst concern of rising International Crude oil prices and depreciation of INR against USD and Nifty 50 closed the day lower amidst volatility.

After a sharp fall in the initial part a sustainable recovery has emerged in the later half to close off the lows. The sharp uptick of 74 points during closing CAS session has resulted in Nifty 50 recovering most of the intraday losses towards the end.

A small negative candle was formed on the daily chart with long lower shadow, which indicates a formation of bullish hammer type candle pattern. It seems like Nifty 50 sustained above the crucial lower support of around 24,300 after violating below it on Wednesday.

The short-term trend of Nifty 50 continues to be choppy with weak bias. Any weakness down to 24,300 could be a buy on dips opportunity for the short term. Immediate resistance to be watched for turnaround at 24,600 levels.

Stocks to buy

Buy Hindustan Copper at ₹549, Target ₹595, Stoploss ₹520, Timeframe 1-2 weeks

After showing minor weakness recently, Hindustan Copper share price bounced back sharply on Wednesday after forming a new higher bottom. The recent decisive breakout of down sloping trend line has been retested during the dip and the stock price recovered from the support as per change in polarity.

Buy Bank of Maharashtra at ₹81.90, Target at ₹88.50, Stoploss at ₹78, Timeframe 1-2 weeks

After witnessing a sharp weakness over the last 5-6 weeks, Bank of Maharashtra share price has witnessed a decisive breakout on Wednesday and closed higher. Larger degree bullish pattern like higher tops and bottoms is intact on the weekly chart. Volume has started to expand during upside breakout in the stock price and daily RSI shows positive indication.

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.