Stocks to buy or sell for short-term:Jay Thakkar of ICICI Sec suggests Kotak Bank, Ramco Cements, TCS in F&O segment

Stock market today: The primary stock indices, Nifty 50 and Sensex, opened slightly higher on Wednesday, benefiting from gains in the banking and IT sectors, as market participants eagerly await the US tariff announcements scheduled for April 2.

On Tuesday, both benchmark indices experienced their largest daily percentage decline in a month, as uncertainty surrounding the extent and details of the reciprocal tariffs heightened concerns about a potential escalation of a global trade war.

The White House has indicated that the tariffs will be implemented immediately following Trump's announcement on Wednesday, which is set for 1:30 IST on Thursday.

The benchmark Nifty 50 has declined 11.5% from its all-time high reached in late September due to concerns over US tariffs, sluggish domestic earnings growth, and foreign capital outflows.

As of 11:39 IST, the Nifty 50 was up by 0.55% to reach 23,292.30, while the Sensex rose by 0.62% to 76,500.06

Market Outlook by Jay Thakkar, Vice President & Head of Derivatives and Quant Research, ICICI Securities

Nifty 50

Nifty 50 has once again reversed from 23,800 levels thus making it a major hurdle to surpass in the near term, however, the Index had witnessed sharp short covering above 22,800/23,000 range, hence it is the near term support, so the range for the Index for this week is 22,800 to 23,800 which is 4% and for 92% of the time based on past 7 years data the high-low range for the Index is within 0-5%, hence the strategy should be to initiate longs in the range of 23,000/22,800 levels whereas sell in the range of 22,700/22,800 for this week.

The FII net long % in the Index Futures is 30% as against 40% last Thursday, hence the ratio has come down indicating some shorts built up at higher levels by the FIIs. Also, the FIIs have sold more than 10,000 crs in the equity cash segment ahead of the Trump’s Tariff plan as well as the start for the result season which is also a negative indication in the near term. The PCR has fallen to 0.63 levels with 23,500 having the highest call base for this weekly expiry and there was unwinding in he puts across the strikes, so the range is 23,000 to 23,500 within the broader range of 22,800-23,800.

Stocks To Buy in the near-term - Jay Thakkar

Jay Thakkar of ICICI Securities recommends Kotak Mahindra Bank Futures, Ramco Cements Futures, and TCS Futures.

Buy Kotak Mahindra Bank Futures in the range of ₹2,165 to 2,135 with a stop loss below ₹2,075 for the targets of ₹2,230 to 2,270

Kotak bank has provided a breakout from a huge consolidation with long built up in futures segment. The Options data indicates that ₹2,200 is an immediate resistance as it has the highest call base, so beyond that it will zoom towards ₹2,270 as there is no major call additions beyond that. There has been good put additions from ₹2,100 to ₹2,160 levels, hence this is a good support range. The stock is trading above its max pain level of ₹2,140 as well as modified max pain of ₹2,114 hence ₹2,100 to ₹2,140 is a good support range.

Buy Ramco Cements Futures in the range of ₹890 to ₹910 with a stop loss of ₹860 for the targets of ₹960 and ₹1,000

Ramco Cements has witnessed long unwinding due to which the prices had fallen back to its lower end of the range, however, the stock has now reversed from the lower end of the range and the overall cement sector has witnessed long built up, hence it has an upside potential. The stock has managed to surpass its max pain levels of 900 and it has also witnessed put additions from 850 to 900 levels with that there has been call unwinding across all strikes from 900 to 960 levels which has improved the PCR from an oversold region to now at 0.63, so the risk: reward is favourable for the bulls from hereon.

Sell TCS Futures in the range of ₹3,550 to ₹3,570 with a stop loss of ₹3,675 for the targets of ₹3,300 and ₹3,200

TCS started its decline from the top due to long unwinding, however, the selling pressure thereafter accelerated due to short built up which has reversed the trend from up to down. Recently, due to bounce back in the overall markets, TCS also managed to bounce back on account of short covering, however, the bounce has been weak, hence the trend continues to be down. There has been call additions in the range of 3,550 to 3,600 levels and 3,700 strike has the highest call OI, whereas, 3,500 strike and 3,600 strike has the highest put base, so the trend is sideways to negative until 3,675 to 3,700 range is not taken off on the upside.

Disclaimer: The Research Analyst or his relatives or I-Sec do not have actual/beneficial ownership of 1% or more securities of the subject company, at the end of 01/04/2025 or have no other financial interest and do not have any material conflict of interest.

The views and recommendations provided in this analysis are those of individual analysts or broking companies, not Mint. We strongly advise investors to consult with certified experts before making any investment decisions, as market conditions can change rapidly and individual circumstances may vary.