Stocks to buy under ₹200: Mehul Kothari of Anand Rathi recommends three shares to buy or sell

Stocks to buy under ₹200: Indian equity benchmarks ended sharply higher on Friday, July 17, with the rally driven by strong gains in Reliance Industries and heavyweight private banks ahead of their June quarter earnings announcements.

Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank were among the biggest contributors to the gains, helping lift the Sensex and Nifty 50 even as the broader market remained under pressure due to escalating tensions in West Asia and rising crude oil prices.

The Sensex surged 965 points, or 1.25%, to close at 78,151.45, while the Nifty 50 climbed 262 points, or 1.09%, to settle at 24,334.30.

For the week ended July 17, Indian equities remained volatile as investors weighed geopolitical developments in West Asia, fluctuating crude oil prices, foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows and mixed global cues, including the latest US inflation data. After witnessing profit booking in the first half of the week, the market staged a strong recovery, supported by softer-than-expected US inflation, renewed expectations of a US Federal Reserve rate cut and continued buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs).

Mehul Kothari, Deputy Vice President — Technical Research at Anand Rathi, noted that from a technical perspective, the broader market structure continues to remain constructive.

During the week, the Nifty attempted to move lower; however, the 24,000 level once again acted as a strong support, while the 24,300 zone continued to attract selling pressure, keeping the index range-bound for most of the week, noted Kothari. He further stated that although the index witnessed a breakout attempt in Friday's session, he is not yet fully convinced about the sustainability of this move, as the 24,350–24,400 zone remains an immediate hurdle. This region coincides with the previous gap area as well as the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement of the recent corrective decline, making it a crucial resistance zone, Kothari added.

"Therefore, we would prefer to wait for a decisive close above 24,400 before turning more aggressively bullish and expecting a fresh leg of the uptrend. On the downside, our view remains unchanged. 24,000 continues to be the immediate support, followed by the stronger support zone near 23,800–23,650. As long as these levels hold, the broader trend remains positive, and our preferred strategy continues to be 'Buy on Dips', suggested the expert.

Meanwhile, for Bank Nifty, he said that the index remained range-bound for most of the week, broadly trading within the 57,000–59,000 zone. However, Friday's session witnessed a sharp rebound of over 900 points, enabling the index to close back above the 58,000 mark and improving near-term sentiment.

Going into the coming week, all eyes will be on the quarterly earnings of HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank, which are likely to play a crucial role in determining the index's next directional move, he highlighted.

"Our broader view remains unchanged. A decisive close above 59,000 would confirm a fresh breakout and could trigger the next leg of the rally. On the downside, 57,000 continues to be the key support, and a sustained break below this level could lead to a short-term corrective phase. Until either of these levels is breached, traders should expect range-bound price action while maintaining a positive medium-term outlook," recommended Kothari.

Regarding stocks to buy under ₹200, Mehul Kothari recommended these three short-term picks: Suzlon Energy, IDBI, and Zee Entertainment Enterprises.

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.

Pranati Deva is a seasoned financial journalist with over a decade of experience in high-pressure newsroom environments, currently working as a Senior Sub Editor at LiveMint. Over the years, she...