Buy or sell stocks: Following a sell-off in technology and auto stocks, the Indian stock market ended lower for the third straight session on Friday. The Nifty 50 index ended 205 points lower at 25,149, the lowest closing level for the index since June 24th, 2025. The BSE Sensex shed 698 points and closed at 82,500, while the Bank Nifty index finished 201 points lower at 56,754.
Despite the broader market’s dip, Hindustan Unilever, SBI Life, and Sun Pharma emerged as top performers on the Nifty, demonstrating resilience. Conversely, TCS, M&M, and Hero MotoCorp concluded the session as major losers, bearing the brunt of the selling pressure. Trading volumes on the NSE cash market were notably higher by 13% compared to yesterday.
The Nifty Midcap and the Smallcap Indices also witnessed profit booking in line with the benchmark indices. The Nifty Midcap 100 Index continued its downward journey for the sixth consecutive day, falling by 0.9%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 Index plunged 1.02%. Market breadth ended decisively negative, with declining stocks sharply outpacing advancing ones, as indicated by a BSE advance-decline ratio of 0.63, the lowest since June 19th.
Vaishali Parekh, Vice President of Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher, believes the Indian stock market sentiment has turned cautious as the Nifty 50 index has slipped below the crucial support levels of 25,250 on a closing basis. The Prabhudas Lilladher expert said the next critical support for the key benchmark index is 24,900.
Speaking on the Nifty 50 outlook, Vaishali Parekh said, “The Nifty 50 index amid heavy profit booking plunged below the important support zone of 25,250 level with bias slightly becoming weak and has the next crucial support near 24,900 zone of the significant 50-EMA level, which needs to be sustained to maintain the overall trend intact. Volatility in the index shall continue with the ongoing results season. On the upside, as mentioned earlier, a decisive breach above the 25,650 zone is necessary to trigger fresh upward movement in the coming days.”
“The Bank Nifty index witnessed some erosion in the morning session but consolidated thereafter to end near the 56,750 zone with bias still maintained intact, having the crucial support positioned near the 56,000 level, which needs to be sustained as of now. At the same time, the index would need to breach above the resistance level of 57,600 and expect fresh higher targets of 58,500 and 60,000 levels in the coming days,” said Parekh.
Parekh said the immediate support for the Nifty today is at 25,000, while the resistance is at 25,300. The Bank Nifty would have a daily range of 56,400 to 57,300.
Regarding stocks to buy today, Vaishali Parekh recommended these three buy-or-sell stocks: Paradeep Phosphates, Godawari Power and Ispat, and NMDC.
1] Paradeep Phosphates: Buy at ₹162, Target ₹173, Stop Loss ₹155;
2] Godawari Power and Ispat: Buy at ₹186, Target ₹200, Stop Loss ₹180; and
3] NMDC: Buy at ₹69, Target ₹75, Stop Loss ₹66.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts or brokerage companies, not Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.