Market texture bullish but mildly overbought, Nifty support at 18050-18000; M&M, HCL Tech among top stocks to buy By Shrikant Chouhan The Nifty hovered between the range of 18130-18180 on Tuesday. on daily charts, the index has formed a small candle while on intraday charts it is still holding a higher bottom formation which is broadly positive. We are of the view that the market texture is bullish but mildly overbought, hence we could see range-bound activity in the near future. For traders now, buying on dips and sell on rallies would be the ideal strategy. For the short term, 18050-18000/61000-60800 would be the key support zone for Nifty and Sensex while 18200-18250/61500-61700 would act as an immediate hurdle for the bulls. However, below 18000/60800 uptrend would be vulnerable. Below the same, traders may prefer to exit from the trading long positions. Post decline from the levels of 500 the stock went into a range-bound movement. Recently, strong bullish activity is spotted near the multiple support zone. Additionally, the formation of a bullish Marubozu candlestick pattern with a good volume suggests a strong up move in the counter. The counter is trading into a range-bound mode for the last few sessions, and presently the counter is near the breakout line of the symmetrical triangle chart pattern. Hence, the recent price action indicates a strong breakout for a new leg of up moves in the coming trading sessions. On the daily chart, post reversal from its support zone the stock is into a gradual up move and is into a rising channel pattern. The texture of the chart pattern suggests upward movement from the current level is very likely to continue in the coming horizon. (Shrikant Chouhan is Head of Equity Research (Retail) at Kotak Securities Ltd. Views expressed are the author’s own.)
Logistics, good or bad, are driven by the states and the commerce ministry has a LEADS (Logistics Ease Across Different States) report, based on perceptions. The 2023 version was released in December. Since states are heterogenous, in the reporting, they are divided into four groups—coastal, landlocked, north-east, and UTs. States that do well are called achievers. Nomenclature matters. Thus, states that are middling aren’t called average. They are called fast movers. States that are sub-par are called aspirers. Let me highlight coastal states, since 75% of export cargo is estimated to originate from them. Among coastal states, ones that do well are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. The ones that lag are Goa, Odisha, and West Bengal. While India’s logistics performance may have improved over time, that’s not true of every state. Some have slipped. Most states have a state-level logistics policy, including Goa and Odisha. West Bengal, bottom of the pecking order in the coastal category, doesn’t have one. To quote from LEADS 2023, “Looking ahead, the State (West Bengal) could benefit from formulating a State Logistics Master Plan and State Logistics Policy to drive efficiency improvements and facilitate investments within the logistics sector and undertake consultation with the logistics stakeholders for educating and informing them about the initiatives State is undertaking for the development and improvement of logistics sector.”
Logistics has been talked about for a long time and India has also focused on improving performance. We are now getting some precise data on measurement and quantification. That helps.
Bibek Debroy, chairman, EAC-PM. Views are personal.