Post-Diwali stock market stumbles, opening opportunities for investors amid sector shifts and pre-election anticipation

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 12 : Following the Diwali festivities, the stock market experienced a downturn, with the Sensex slipping by 325.58 points to close at 64,933.87, and the Nifty declining by 82.00 points to close at 19,443.55.
In the Nifty companies, 13 witnessed advances, 36 faced declines, and 1 remained unchanged.
Notable among the gainers were Coal India, Eicher Motors, Hindalco, M&M, and BPCL, while companies such as SBI Life, Bajaj Finance, Grasim, Infosys, and Nestle faced losses.
Market experts weighed in on the situation. Varun Aggarwal, founder and managing director of Profit Idea, highlighted a crucial Options Interest (OI) level at 19,500 CE, suggesting that traders should opt for risk-defined strategies.
He underlined the critical support level at 19,000 OI and observed a broader trading range for Nifty between 19,600-18,800 levels, predicting a medium-term Nifty target between 20,466-21,234-21,410.
Varun Aggarwal said, "Huge OI at 19500 CE levels. Traders should look to trade with risk-defined strategies. On the downside, crucial support lies at 19000 OI levels. Nifty has shifted in a broader range of 19600-18800 levels. The medium-term target of Nifty remains at 20466-21234-21410".
Motilal Oswal, Group MD and CEO of Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd offered an optimistic outlook, expecting the Hindu Samvat 2080 to begin positively, backed by strong earnings and a healthy economic outlook.
Despite economic headwinds and global concerns in Samvat 2079, Nifty had a 10 per cent gain.
Oswal predicted a continuing market shine in Samvat 2080, focusing on sector rotation as a key driver, particularly highlighting sectors like BFSI, Discretionary Consumption, Construction and real Estate, and High-Growth Niche Sectors.
Oswal said, 'Hindu Samvat 2080 is likely to start on a positive note on the back of strong earnings and a healthy economic outlook. Samvat 2079 ended with Nifty gaining around 10 per cent, despite economic headwinds and global geopolitical concerns. Entering into Samvat 2080, we believe India would continue to shine and expect markets to maintain its outperformance."
Oswal added, "We believe that over the next couple of quarters, sector rotation would be an important driver along with the overall market uptrend. We expect sectors like BFSI, Discretionary Consumption, Construction and Real Estate and High Growth Niche Sectors to drive the overall market uptrend".
V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, observed that continuous selling by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) in financials had made banking stock valuations more attractive.
Vijayakumar said, "Sustained selling by FPIs in financials have made the valuations of banking stocks attractive. This is an opportunity for investors with a time horizon of 2 years and above. In the run-up to the General elections, a rally in the stock market is likely as happened during the last five General elections. Leading banking stocks have the potential to outperform in the imminent rally."
He saw this as a favourable opportunity for investors with a longer-term horizon of 2 years or more.
Anticipating a potential rally in the stock market during the upcoming General elections, he mentioned the potential for leading banking stocks to outperform in this impending rally, mirroring previous patterns observed during the last five General elections.