Indian equities ended lower on Monday. The Sensex ended at 77,369, down 172 points, or 0.22%, while the Nifty 50 closed 33 points, or 0.14%, lower at 24,219.05. Concerns over inflation, fiscal balances, and potential rate hikes kept investors on edge, with banking and financial stocks falling nearly 0.5% amid uncertainty surrounding the Reserve Bank of India’s draft loan-pricing rules.
Three stocks to trade, recommended by NeoTrader’s Raja Venkatraman:
ENGINERSIN (Cmp 254.85)
- Why it’s recommended: Engineers India Ltd (EIL) is a leading public sector engineering consultancy and project management company. Since April 2026 the stock has been making a rounding pattern indicating accumulation as the prices take support at the Senkou Span B lines and are slowly heading higher. The negative Q1 numbers got absorbed and the rounding pattern revival are adding to the buying interest that is generating a upward bias. The long body candle thrust that is seen in the last two trading sessions has been attracting attention. With the Relative Strength Index firmly inching higher , it can lead to some strong upward move in the coming weeks. Go long.
- Key metrics:
- P/E Ratio: 21.15,
- 52-week high: ₹267,
- Volume: 5.61M
- Technical analysis: Support at ₹225, resistance at ₹350.
- Risk factors: Capital Expenditure Sensitivity, Tender-Driven Inflows and Margin Disparity.
- Buy: above ₹255.
- Stop loss: ₹243.
- Target price: ₹280 (2 Months)
CHALET (Cmp 869.55)
- Why it’s recommended: Chalet Hotels is an Indian owner, developer, asset manager, and operator of high-end hotels and mixed-use real estate. The negative Q1 numbers impacted its recovery briefly , however a strong deal combined with the recent revival in the Real Estate sector helped its upside aspirations. With the prices are reflecting a sustained buying we should consider going long. A consolidation breakdown with some steady volumes that is indicating a potential decline in store. Consider going long.
- Key metrics:
- P/E: 34.82,
- 52-week high: ₹1078.95,
- Volume: 253.13K.
- Technical analysis: Support at ₹820, resistance at ₹1020.
- Risk factors: Industry cyclicality, geographic concentration, and high fixed operating costs. Economic downturns and external shocks heavily influence its financial performance.
- Buy: above ₹871
- Stop loss: ₹830
- Target price: ₹980 (2 Months)
DLF (Cmp 689)
- Why it’s recommended: DLF is India's largest publicly listed real estate company building residential homes, large office parks, and shopping malls, shaping major urban areas like Gurugram and Delhi. After testing important resistance zones around 680 the prices have finally given a closing above it with a long body candle suggesting a strong bullish bias. We can see now that the strong thrust on the back of volumes can augur well for the prices. With the prices are reflecting a sustained buying and the Real Estate sector showing strong resilience we consider going long.
- Key metrics:
- P/E: 44.84,
- 52-week high: ₹794.25,
- Volume: 5.1M.
- Technical analysis: Support at ₹650, resistance at ₹850.
- Risk factors: Unsecured portfolio expansion, elevated credit costs and lower casa ratio compared to peers.
- Buy: above ₹689
- Stop loss: ₹660
- Target price: ₹740 (2 Months)
Stock Market Recap
Indian equities closed lower on Monday, August 24, 2026, as persistent selling pressure and elevated crude prices continued to weigh on investor sentiment. The Nifty 50 slipped 0.19% to end at 24,225.60, while the Sensex declined 0.16% to settle at 78,105.40, extending the market’s losing streak. Despite stronger Q1 earnings, the broader mood remained cautious, with concerns over inflation, fiscal balances, and potential rate hikes overshadowing corporate performance.
Banking and financial stocks fell nearly 0.5%, pressured by uncertainty surrounding the Reserve Bank of India’s draft loan-pricing rules, which could impact margins and earnings visibility. Broader indices showed selective resilience, with small-caps rising 0.3% and mid-caps gaining 0.2%, though overall breadth remained weak as most sectors ended in the red. Tata Motors provided some relief, advancing 2.7% on robust demand and earnings momentum, while Tata Group shares steadied after recent leadership-related volatility. Overall, sentiment stayed muted as Nifty hovered near the crucial 24,000 support zone.
Outlook for Trading
Markets have managed to hold on and the rebound seen over the last few days continued to display a sense of hope as 24300 as a key level that continues to be held. Unlike last week, this week witnessed some solidarity from all the broader indices. While a revival is seen we need to consider that we are still not out of woods and this could be an intermittent rally. The triggers that we can expect in the coming week would be a mix of domestic and global that could impact the sentiment. The last week the movement has been largely driven by some short with no clarity being witnessed at the global level, with markets being closed. Volatility shall continue to be part of the overall environment and will need some time to stabilize.
Globally the Federal Reserve Policy measures are now coming into play. Even though broader U.S. price pressures still appear modest for now, markets are fully pricing in three rate hikes this year, one more than was seen just a few months ago. Some analysts even expect four. That in turn has stoked anxiety that many central banks will start to tighten policy and raise borrowing costs, hurting corporate earnings and clouding the outlook for what had been expected to be another solid year of global economic growth. The daily chart shown above clearly shows that the ranging action continues to be in play and will need more momentum to head higher. While we note that the trendline resistance is broken we still need more momentum to drive higher as the current display of bullishness seen on Friday was primarily some weekend short covering rather than some genuine buying.
Looking at the option buildup at the time of expiry we noted that there April series begins with option concentration at 24300. Rolls on the short side were on the higher side and the quantum of Nifty and Bank Nifty that began with a heavy bearish outlook is now increasing. As the series is heading towards a close, it appears that bears have preferred to lapse the pending positions than carry them forward. So, it appears that the bearish bias of the sentiment is fading away.
Trends have been putting up a fight and they have now eventually given up the possibility of heading higher. Under this situation it is becoming difficult for the uptrend to sustain and deliver a strong trend. The sustained selling pressure at higher levels has now caused key stocks to witness some profit booking. Banking has been firm but will it help the markets continue its further upward traction.
Raja Venkatraman is co-founder, NeoTrader. His Sebi-registered research analyst registration no. is INH000016223.
Investments in securities are subject to market risks. Read all the related documents carefully before investing. Registration granted by Sebi and certification from NISM in no way guarantees performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.