Stocks to buy: Raja Venkatraman's top picks for 19 December
Market expert Raja Venkatraman shares his top three stock picks to buy today, 19 December. Discover his exclusive picks and analysis to inform your investment strategy.
Bearish forces have been unrelenting and the trends are unable to stage any recovery despite the best intentions. With the trends remaining challenged the road ahead is fraught with uncertainty. Looking for some encouraging triggers.
Here are three stocks to buy or sell as recommended by Raja Venkatraman of NeoTrader for Friday 19 Dec.
Best stocks to buy today
(All Buy trades are rates of Equity & Sell rates are based on F&O)
VOLTAS: Buy above ₹1402, stop ₹1370 target ₹1480 (Multiday)
SYNGENE: Buy above ₹658, stop ₹650 target ₹669 (Intraday)
ICICIPRU: Buy above ₹647, stop ₹637 target ₹661 (Intraday)
Stock market today
On 18 December 2025, Indian equity markets extended their losing streak, with benchmark indices closing lower for the fourth straight session amid weak global cues and profit booking in select sectors. The Sensex slipped 77.84 points to 84,481.81, while the Nifty 50 ended at 25,815.55, down 3 points. The decline mirrored weakness across Asian markets, where South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng traded in the red, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street led by selling in technology and AI-related stocks.
On the domestic front, auto shares faced selling pressure, declining up to 2 percent as investors booked profits, dragging sentiment lower. However, select financial and metal stocks provided some cushion, with Shriram Finance, SBI, and Hindalco posting gains. Analysts noted the market was in a consolidation phase, with investors cautious ahead of year-end positioning and global interest rate expectations.
Outlook for trading
Moving to the charts we note that the trends have been largely oriented towards trading rather than investing. Hence , from a trading perspective we can note that on the hourly charts the gap area highlighted combining with the 61.8% Fibonacci support trendline has helped the prices since start of the last week to stage a move above the cloud region on Friday. The trend that is emerging clearly suggests that a rally could be in progress as the markets are still trying to find their way after an extended run in last two months. Momentums on hourly charts are indicating that the prices have now settled down and there seems to be a withdrawal of selling pressure. With the gradual and hesitant rise emerging from supports on Friday we can expect the rise to continue.
For undertaking shorts, we need to see Nifty move below 25700 for a drop once again to 25500 where we see the next set of supports emerging. If we witness a 30-minute range breakout on Friday we can consider to trade on lower else the trends still remain tentative. Currently we expect some supports to kick in. As ranging market is in play, we need to be quick in profit taking as we the trend does not have sufficient steam to move strongly in either direction.
The readings from the Option Data suggests that PCR has moved to 0.81, highlighting that the trends are at an important stage with some Call writing at 25900 levels continues to defend the higher levels fighting the rise.
At this juncture we have to pay attention to multiple news triggers, the combination of global tariff threats, cautious investor sentiment, and domestic economic challenges contributed to the sharp market decline and volatility in the rupee.
Three stocks to trade, recommended by NeoTrader’s Raja Venkatraman:
VOLTAS (Cmp 1401.70)
VOLTAS: Buy above ₹1402, stop ₹1370 target ₹1480 (Multiday)
Why it’s recommended: Voltas Limited is a major Indian multinational, part of the Tata Group, offers consumer durables (ACs, coolers, home appliances) and extensive engineering solutions in HVAC, water treatment, mining, textile machinery, and infrastructure projects. This stock has been slowly and steadily climbing hihgler as the trend continuously has been experiencing steady buying. With the RSI firming up once again we can look at possibility of more upside in the coming days. A move above the cloud highlights possibility of the trends moving higher.
Key metrics:
P/E: 27.47,
52-week high: ₹1859.65,
Volume: 1.06M.
Technical analysis: Support at ₹1300, resistance at ₹1450.
Risk factors: Competition and pricing pressure, and potential time and cost overruns in its engineering projects.
Buy : above ₹1402.
Stop loss: ₹1370.
Target price: ₹1480.(2 Months)
SYNGENE (Cmp 657.10)
SYNGENE: Buy above ₹658, stop ₹650 target ₹669 (Intraday)
Why it’s recommended: Syngene International Ltd. is a leading integrated contract research, development, and manufacturing organization (CRDMO) that provides scientific services to global pharmaceutical, biotechnology, animal health, consumer goods, and specialty chemical companies. Post a sharp decline the prices are seen have reached a strong set of valuation support and are seen rebounding. Also, the RSI is seen inching higher with prices getting out of cloud on the daily charts highlight that there is a strong possibility to move higher.
Key metrics:
P/E: 60.85,
52-week high: ₹895.85,
Volume: 3.94M.
Technical analysis: Support at ₹660, resistance at ₹705.
Risk factors: High customer and geographic concentration, intense competition in the contract research space, vulnerability to regulatory changes, and exposure to foreign exchange fluctuations.
Buy : above ₹658.
Stop loss: ₹650.
Target price: ₹669.
ICICIPRULI (Cmp 645.65)
ICICIPRULI: Buy above ₹647, stop ₹637 target ₹661 (Intraday)
Why it’s recommended: ICICIPRULI is a major Indian life insurance company and a publicly traded joint venture between ICICI Bank and Prudential Corporation Holdings Limited. A strong long body bullish candle seen on Friday has ignited some strong bullish sentiments. With the RSI taking support at the neutral zone and rising we can look at possibility of more upside in the coming days. A dip into the cloud region and a rebound augurs well for a revival. Consider going long.
Key metrics:
P/E: 71.22,
52-week high: ₹693,
Volume: 2.63M.
Technical analysis: Support at ₹600, resistance at ₹700.
Risk factors: Investment Risk Born by Policyholder, Credit/Default Risk, and intense market competition.
Buy : above ₹647.
Stop loss: ₹637.
Target price: ₹661.
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.
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