This Week in Stock Markets: 2025 Strategy, Sectors and Stocks in Focus

The start of a new year often brings hope, plans and questions—especially for investors navigating the ever-changing world of financial markets. We sat down together to help understand the ups and downs Kranti BathiniAn equity strategist at Wealth Mills Securities, to talk about recent market moves and what’s ahead.

Quotes:

Q. Let’s start with what happened in the markets this week. The Sensex and the Nifty saw some ups and downs this week. What happened to the markets?

Kranti Bathini: Sensex and Nifty experienced volatility, with Nifty hitting a low of 23,600 before recovering to 24,250. The week was dominated by profit booking and short covering and the Nifty closed below 24,000. Mixed global cues and upcoming events such as Q3 earnings and the Union Budget (February 1) will influence market direction.

Q. Which stocks or sectors do you think could be beneficial for investors this year as well as in the long term?

Kranti Bathini: Absolutely. Following are some of the areas that could be in focus for 2025.

Banking and Financial Services: Banking and financial services stocks are in a consolidation phase, making them attractive for medium to long-term investors due to favorable valuations. A surprise rate cut could further boost the sector. With growth recovering and sustained momentum, these stocks are poised for gains.

Infrastructure: Increasing government investment and budgetary allocations make this sector promising.

Rescue: The consolidation phase offers long-term investment opportunities in both large-cap and mid-cap stocks.

Global factors including US political changes and budget anticipation can lead to market fluctuations. Long-term investors can use dips as buying opportunities. However, traders should adopt a strict stop-loss strategy to navigate market range-bound movements.

Click to watch the interview

Stocks in focus:

1. Ratan India and Ratan Power
– high speculative activity; Fundamentals are not strong.
– Suitable for high risk, speculative investors only.
– Serious investors should focus on quality stocks with good balance sheets and governance.

2. ITC and ITC Hotels
– Post demerger, ITC Hotels can emerge as a strong brand.
– Hotel stocks are trending upwards, supported by the festive season and capacity expansion.
– ITC Hotels offers long-term prospects with high margin segments.

Bajaj Housing Finance
– The assessment is currently drawn; Stock in consolidation phase.
– Medium-term headwinds due to liquidity and credit growth challenges.
– Long-term investors can buy on dips; Existing investors can hold.

Q. What’s the forecast for this week? What to watch for Nifty levels?

Kranti Bathini: The market’s ability to hold the 24,000 level is crucial, with FPI behavior a key factor to watch. FPIs have been net sellers recently, although provisional data shows some buying interest in the last two days. DIIs continue to be consistent buyers. Next week, the focus will be on whether FPIs turn to net buying.

Main Levels: Nifty resistance at 24,250-24,300.
Expectations: The range-bound and consolidation phase is likely to continue.

Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by experts/brokers do not represent the views of Economic Times.