Vodafone Idea, Suzlon Energy, Kotak Mahindra Bank & Bajaj Finance: What Jay Thakkar of ICICI Sec says on these 4 stocks

Jay Thakkar of ICICI Securities expects benchmark Nifty50 to trade within the 21,000-23,000 range in the near term. Sector-wise, there could be some pain left in the IT pack and sub-index Nifty IT is nearing that low, the market expert told Business Today on Wednesday. "The only sector that is relatively quite immune as of now and has been an outperformer is BFSI (Banking, financial services and insurance)," Thakkar added.

He liked Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd and Bajaj Finance Ltd from the BFSI space. "One can look at Kotak as the stock offers decent comfort. Rs 1,900-2,000 levels would act as good support. And, Bajaj Finance has been an outperformer and the counter can still perform well in the future. Both Kotak Bank and Bajaj Finance are offering good risk-reward in this kind of market scenario," Thakkar stated.

In response to a query on Vodafone Idea Ltd, Thakkar said, "The government has raised its stake in Vodafone Idea to 49 per cent. The recent lows of Rs 6-6.50 should not be broken if this development has to play out positively in the favour of Voda Idea. If Rs 6-6.50 levels are broken, it implies that it's not working. Keep a strict stop loss placed at Rs 6."

When asked about Suzlon Energy, he said, "Rs 45 is a good support for Suzlon. One can stay invested till the stock trades above the Rs 45 mark. Below Rs 45, investors should be looking at something else in the power sector such as NTPC or Tata Power."

Meanwhile, Indian equity benchmarks will remain closed on Thursday due to Mahavir Jayanti. All segments of the Indian stock market — equities, derivatives, currency, SLB, and EGR — will remain closed on Thursday in observance of Mahavir Jayanti, a key Jain festival commemorating the birth of Lord Mahavir. Trading will resume on Friday, April 11.