Federal Bank among four stock picks as Nifty slips below 23,000

The Nifty slipped below 23,000 as selling in private banking and IT shares interrupted the Indian equity market’s recent recovery, according to Economic Times Markets’ October 20 trading guide. The report described weak market breadth and cautious global sentiment ahead of a busy corporate earnings week.

The guide lists Federal Bank, ACME Solar, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Union Bank of India as technical picks for Wednesday, October 21. Its individual recommendations attribute the first three to Sachin Gupta, vice-president of research at Choice Equity Broking, and the Union Bank call to Virat Jagad, senior technical research analyst at Bonanza Portfolio.

These are analysts’ chart-based trading calls, not assured returns. The targets and stop-loss levels below are those cited in the guide; the accompanying recommendation text does not specify entry prices or holding periods.

Federal Bank: ₹385 target, ₹330 stop-loss

Gupta’s Federal Bank recommendation rests on a move above a downward-sloping trend line on the daily chart, accompanied by higher trading volumes. He interprets that combination as evidence of stronger buying interest.

The stock was described as trading above its 20-day and 50-day exponential moving averages, or EMAs. Its relative strength index, or RSI, stood at 64.43, which Gupta cited as a positive momentum signal.

ACME Solar: ₹460 target, ₹398 stop-loss

For ACME Solar, Gupta points to buying after the stock found support around an upward-sloping trend line. A hammer-shaped candlestick near that level was followed by a breakout backed by stronger volumes.

His assessment also notes that the price closed and remained above its 20-day EMA, supporting his view of an improving short-term trend.

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories: ₹1,370 target, ₹1,180 stop-loss

Gupta identifies a breakout from a sideways price range on a shorter-time-frame chart in Dr Reddy’s Laboratories. On the daily chart, the stock held above the highs of the preceding three sessions and closed above its 200-day EMA.

He views those signals as indicating improving price strength and a possible turn towards a bullish trend. The RSI reading cited for the stock was 59.92.

Union Bank of India: ₹190 target, ₹175 stop-loss

Jagad’s Union Bank recommendation cites a move above horizontal resistance on the daily chart. The guide quotes the stock at ₹180.70, up 5.25%, alongside expanding trading volumes.

The stock was described as trading above its 20-day, 50-day, 100-day and 200-day EMAs. Jagad also highlighted an upward RSI crossover, with the indicator at 58.44, as support for his bullish assessment.