Stock market recap: War in West Asia thrust geopolitical risk back to the forefront of global finance on Monday, 2 March, erasing more than ₹6.5 trillion in market value from BSE-listed companies. The fear gauge India VIX shot up 23.5%, its biggest single-day climb in nearly 11 months, mirroring rising investor anxiety.
The selloff followed a joint US-Israeli military campaign against Iran over the weekend that resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, sparking fears of regional instability and speculation of regime change.
Global equity markets retreated in a broad-based flight from risk. Germany’s DAX fell 1.9% and France’s CAC 40 dropped 1.6%, while in Asia, the Hang Seng Index led declines with a 2.1% slide. Back home, the Nifty 50 and S&P BSE Sensex both shed roughly 1.3% to close at 24,865.70 and 80,238.85, respectively, after plunging over 2% during the day.
Indian markets were shut Tuesday for a public holiday.
Here are three stocks to buy or sell as recommended by Raja Venkatraman of NeoTrader for Wednesday 4 Mar.
Best stocks to buy today (All Buy trades are rates of Equity & Sell rates are based on F&O)
APLAPOLLO: Buy above ₹2230, stop ₹2180 target ₹2360 (Multiday)
POWERGRID: Buy above ₹298, stop ₹282 target ₹325 (Multiday)
BANKINDIA: Buy above ₹173, stop ₹165 target ₹189 (Multiday)
Stock Market Today
Indian equity markets witnessed a sharp decline on 2 March 2, as weak global cues and rising crude oil prices, triggered by escalating tensions between the US and Iran, weighed heavily on investor sentiment. Nifty 50 opened lower and briefly fell near the 24,600 mark in early trade. Although some recovery was seen during the session, selling pressure persisted, leading to a close below 24,900.
The Sensex ended at 80,238.85, down 1,048.34 points or 1.29%, while the Nifty settled at 24,865.70, losing 312.95 points or 1.24%. Broader markets also faced heat, with both midcap and smallcap indices falling 1.5% each.
Among the major laggards were L&T, InterGlobe Aviation, Adani Ports, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, and Adani Enterprises. On the other hand, Bharat Electronics, Sun Pharma, ONGC, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, and Hindalco managed to post gains. Sector-wise, metals stood out as the only bright spot, while Auto, Consumer Durables, and Oil & Gas declined around 2 percent each.
Outlook for Trading
The market is struggling to make sense of the strong trends pushing it to deeper lows. With no signs of the geopolitical tension easing, uncertainty continues to mount. Attempts at recovery from lower levels are consistently met with selling pressure at higher points.
As key levels were tested at the start of this truncated trading week, which also happens to be the expiry week, attention turns to how trends may unfold. In the coming days, sentiment will remain heavily influenced by geopolitical developments, keeping the outlook uncertain.
Amid the widespread impact of negative news, the charts warrant a cautious approach. Fibonacci support levels reached at the start of the week suggest a temporary pause in the decline. The focus now should be on how trends emerge in the next few days and whether the market can mount a revival.
Option data indicates that broad trends are still hindering recovery. While isolated pockets of upward movement exist, overall clarity is lacking. The best approach is to selectively participate in stocks that are holding their ground or showing signs of upward momentum. Alternatively, investors can look for previously strong performers that are now presenting opportunities for trend revival.
Overall, the levels of 24500 is now feeling pressured as it has been tested multiple times. As the trends try to unfold in the next few days, we would be looking at the levels of 24500-24600 to hold.
Three stocks to trade, recommended by NeoTrader’s Raja Venkatraman:
APLAPOLLO (current market price ₹2222.30) - Buy above ₹2230, stop ₹2180 target ₹2360 (Multiday)
- Why it’s recommended: APL Apollo Tubes Ltd (APLAPOLLO) is India's largest producer of structural steel tubes, boasting a 5-million-ton annual capacity and over 50% market share. With metal sector able to take advantage of the commodity market moves we can observe that this particular counter has moved up sharply in the last few months. The recent days have been demonstrating some profit booking. However, the recent decline found some strong supports at 2200 to push the prices back up. One should look for a buy opportunity
- Key metrics:
- P/E: 125.21,
- 52-week high: ₹2300.90,
- Volume: 509.81K
- Technical analysis: Support at ₹2150, resistance at ₹2300.
- Risk factors: High raw material (steel) price volatility affecting margins, intense competition in the fragmented ERW pipe industry, and dependence on demand from construction/infrastructure sectors.
- Buy: Above ₹2230.
- Stop loss: ₹2180.
- Target price: ₹2360. (2 Months)
POWERGRID (current market price ₹296.80) - Buy above ₹298, stop ₹282 target ₹325 (Multiday)
- Why it’s recommended: Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd (POWERGRID), is India's largest electric power transmission utility, incorporated in 1989 facilitating over 50% of the nation's total power transmission. A sharp rebound from lower levels after the morning gap on Monday is hinting at some strong recovery to discover some a way above the resistance zones around 301. A formation of a long body candle we are once again discovering some strong trends emerging from support levels that can unfold to take the prices higher. As momentum is holding up once again consider going long.
- Key metrics:
- P/E: 18.82,
- 52-week high: ₹321.75,
- Volume: 15.69M.
- Technical analysis: Support at ₹281, resistance at ₹320.
- Risk factors: Aging infrastructure, grid overloading, physical sabotage, and data breaches on SCADA systems.
- Buy: Above ₹298
- Stop loss: ₹282
- Target price: ₹315 (2 Months)
BANKINDIA (current market price ₹172.30) - Buy above ₹173, stop ₹165 target ₹189 (Multiday)
Why it’s recommended: Bank of India (BoI), founded in 1906 and nationalized in 1969, is a premier Indian public sector bank headquartered in Mumbai providing comprehensive retail, corporate, and international banking services. Despite a gap down opening the prices did not fall much and the resultant buying at lower levels clearly indicated that the dips were used to buy into. One of the best performing PSU banks and it should continue when the market fall stops and show more progress to the upside as the indicators are still favouring bullish potential. Buy.
- Key metrics:
- P/E Ratio: 7.74
- 52-week high: ₹178.36
- Volume: 11.17M
- Technical analysis: Support at ₹162, resistance at ₹198.
- Risk factors: Asset Quality and NPAs.
- Buy: Above ₹173.
- Stop loss: ₹165.
- Target price: ₹189. (2 Months)
Raja Venkatraman is co-founder, NeoTrader.