Stock market 15th July: HCL Tech, Shri Ram Finance take lead in early trade as Nifty, Sensex open in green

Both indices, Nifty and Sensex started the day in the green. As of 9:30 am, Nifty was trading at 24,562.85 up by 0.25%, while Sensex was up by 0.24% trading at 80,713.22 points.

During early morning trade, HCL Tech, Ultratech cement, Shri Ram Finance, ONGC, and Wipro took the lead and were in greens, while Asian Paints, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Life and Hero Moto Corp were amongst the laggards. HCL Tech was up by more than 3%, while Ultratech cement and Shri Ram Finance inched up by over 1% each.

As for broad market indices, all mid-cap and small-cap indices saw a weak start to the day, opening in red. India VIX saw a sharp spike, and was up by 4.06% during early trade. Amidst sectoral indices, Nifty realty dipped by over 1% during early trade, while financial services, FMCG, metal and private banks also registered a weak start.

Angel One, HDFC AMC and HDFC Life are set to declare their Q1FY25 results during the day. As Aditya Gaggar, Director of Progressive Shares, "the index is in a strong uptrend and one should opt for buy on dips strategy. With the overbought conditions in the Auto sector, we recommend booking profits; however, selective buying can be seen in the ancillary space. We are bullish on ONGC and Reliance from the Energy space. The FMCG and IT sectors have given a breakout which indicates an extension of the current up-move. Keep an eye out for Colpal, Dabur, GodrejCP, ITC, Nestle-Tech Mahindra and Wipro.

"We are bullish on the Pharma sector but it is approaching the higher end of the rising channel indicating a short-term reversal in the form of profit booking, however, the overall uptrend remains intact. Some stocks from the Textile segment have given a strong breakout namely Cantabil and Welspun Living", he continued.

Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities highlights that in the past week, the benchmark indices showed positive momentum, with the Nifty ending 0.73 percent higher and the Sensex gaining 522 points. The FMCG and IT sectors recorded strong momentum, both rallying over 3 percent. However, the Metal and Reality sectors experienced selling pressure despite the overall market momentum.

"We believe that 24,400/80,100 and 24,350/79,800 would be crucial support levels for trend-following traders. On the higher side, 24,550-24,600/80,100-80,200 would serve as the resistance zone. A close above 24,650 could drive the market towards 24,900-25,000/81,000/81,300. Conversely, dropping below 24,350/79,800 could alter the sentiment, leading to a retest of the level of 24,150-24,100/79,500-79,100. The strategy should be reducing weak long positions between 24,550/24,600 levels. Buying is advisable around 24,250/24,200, with a stop loss at 24,100 on a closing basis. Our advice is to wait for a deeper correction before buying. Until then, focus on specific stocks", continues Chouhan.