Stocks to buy: Raja Venkatraman recommends three stocks for 17 March
Jindal SAW Ltd: Buy above ₹199 | Stop ₹187 | Target ₹223 (multiday)State Bank of India: Buy above ₹1,070 | Stop ₹1,020 | Target ₹1,165 (multiday)Astral Ltd: Buy above 1,625 | Stop ₹1,510 | Target ₹1,785 (multiday)On 16 March 2026, Indian equity markets staged a sharp rebound after three consecutive sessions of losses, with the Nifty 50 closing firmly above the 23,400 mark. The day began on a cautious note, with indices swinging between gains and losses amid heightened volatility.
However, strong buying in the final hour of trade helped benchmarks recover intraday declines and finish in positive territory.The Sensex surged 938.93 points, or 1.26%, to settle at 75,502.85, while the Nifty advanced 257.70 points, or 1.11%, to close at 23,408.80. Despite the rally in frontline indices, broader markets underperformed, with the Nifty Midcap slipping 0.3% and the Smallcap Index losing 0.5%.
Among the top gainers were M&M, Grasim Industries, Trent, UltraTech Cement, and HDFC Bank, while Bharat Electronics, Wipro, Max Healthcare, Sun Pharma, and Coal India ended lower. Sectorally, auto, banking, FMCG, and metals posted modest gains, whereas media, oil and gas, pharma, realty, and capital goods declined.Hesitation has been overcome, and the strong resolve to move higher has met with good demand.
As the trends begin to hold over the last few days, the long body candle revival has once again assured that the trends are beginning to take shape, as a steady buying participation was witnessed through the day!Trading has been daunting in the last few sessions and is now back to last Wednesday's high. The fall seen on Monday, ahead of the expiry, saw prices test gap levels formed in March 2025.
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