Stocks to buy: Divi's Labs and HUL look strong on technical charts, says Akshay Bhagwat

With benchmark indices stuck in a volatile range and earnings season offering little room for broad-based conviction, market participants are being pushed toward highly selective stock ideas. In that backdrop, market expert Akshay Bhagwat has singled out Divis Laboratories Ltd (Divi's Labs) and Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) as two names traders should keep on their radar, arguing that both offer relatively clearer technical setups in an otherwise uncertain tape.

Selective bets in a nervous market

Bhagwat's comments come at a time when the broader market mood remains cautious. In the wider discussion, the Associate Director for Derivatives Research at JM Financial Services noted that the Nifty has been pivoting around the 24,000 mark, with global tensions and weak short-term momentum keeping traders on edge and making this “a stock picker’s market.”

Divi’s Lab gets the technical nod

Among pharma names, Bhagwat identified Divi’s Lab as the standout opportunity. “Divi’s Lab” is one stock “where the technical setup is very promising,” he said, adding that the stock saw “a breakout at Rs 7,000 level last week.”

According to Bhagwat, that breakout has opened room for further gains, with the chart structure indicating upside “till Rs 7,600 on a short to medium-term basis.” He also laid out a clear risk marker for traders, saying stop losses should be maintained below Rs 7,000. The scrip closed Wednesday's sessin at Rs 7,386.75 apiece, up 0.77 per cent. 

HUL stock a safer bet

Bhagwat’s second pick shifts away from pharma and into FMCG. He described HUL as one of the “safer names” investors can look at if they want stability amid market turbulence.

For HUL, he pegged Rs 2,100 as the key support level and said trading pullbacks could carry the stock “all the way till Rs 2,250 on the short-term scenario.” The choice underlines a broader market preference for quality defensives when index direction remains unclear and risk appetite is uneven.

Taken together, the two calls capture the current market mood: chase momentum only where the setup is strong, and balance that with defensives that can hold ground if volatility intensifies. HUL shares settled at Rs 2,157 on BSE, up 0.68 per cent.