Stocks to buy: Raja Venkatraman's top picks for 26 December
Market expert Raja Venkatraman shares his top three stock picks to buy today, 26 December. Discover his exclusive picks and analysis to inform your investment strategy.
Failure to move higher clearly spells the lack of participation. While bullish bias holds on, let’s see how to deal with the trends ahead.
Three stocks to trade as recommended by Raja Venkatraman of NeoTrader:
Best stocks to buy today (All Buy trades are rates of Equity & Sell rates are based on F&O)
Gravita India Ltd: Buy above ₹1870, stop ₹1800 target ₹2030 (Multiday)
Laurus Labs Ltd: Buy above ₹1088, stop ₹1072 target ₹1115 (Intraday)
PNB Housing Finance Ltd: Buy above ₹970, stop ₹950 target ₹1030 (Intraday)
Stock market update
On 24 December, the Sensex and the Nifty ended lower ahead of the Christmas holiday, weighed down by FII selling and profit-booking across key sectors. The benchmark indices slipped from their intraday highs, with the Sensex closing at 85,408.70, down 116.14 points (0.14%), while the Nifty settled at 26,142.10, losing 37.45 points (0.14%). The decline was largely attributed to foreign institutional investors offloading equities worth nearly ₹1,795 crore, marking the second consecutive day of net selling after a brief buying streak.
Sectoral trends reflected profit-taking in IT, pharma, and oil and gas counters, with Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy’s among the notable laggards. Weakness in IT stocks was amplified by concerns over the US administration’s changes to the H-1B visa framework, which now prioritizes higher-paid and skilled applicants over the traditional lottery system. While frontline indices remained subdued, small-cap stocks showed resilience, offering some support to overall market sentiment.
Outlook for trading
Trends continue to indicate a limited response, and the way ahead appears to be fraught with uncertainty. As we have been pointing out, we have realized that the trends could remain challenged at higher levels as the trends continue to experience some disappointment after an encouraging start. The lack of participation yet again ahead of a trading holiday emphasizes the need to reconsider our approach. Overall, the trends remain a buy on dips candidate, and the trends could persist for the coming weeks.
The uncertain scenario can be seen yet again on the charts as the small body candle continues to emerge. While an attempt is being made to hold on to the bullish bias, the hesitation can be seen demonstrated by the RSI. As long as a volatile scenario keeps the trends on leash, forcing us to reconsider that the way ahead is not going to be easy.
With the possibility of sustained upward traction, we can look for any intraday dips as a reason to buy into. The weekly expiry remained muted, and the possibility of some further bounce remains, which has sustained and shown a strong upward trajectory. At the moment, global trends are dictating the way forward, and subdued market action is keeping us on edge with a bias that favours declines, which will remain a buying opportunity.
The option data clearly highlights that the trends have now seen a dip in the PCR below 1. The challenge will be how to handle the strong phases of decline. While indices are taking their time to react, there are plenty of stock-specific actions that are keeping us busy as we near the monthly expiry. The pain point at higher levels remains an issue as we approach the last trading day of the week.
Three stocks to trade, recommended by NeoTrader’s Raja Venkatraman:
GRAVITA (Cmp ₹1,867.90)
Why it’s recommended: Gravita India is a global leader in sustainable recycling, specialising in lead, aluminium, and plastic, transforming waste into valuable materials, aiming to be a valuable global recycling enterprise by creating a positive impact. This stock, after some sharp declines, has dipped into the lower end of the Kumo region and has been consolidating for a while. The revival seen on Wednesday, with robust volumes emerging, is producing a recovery. With prices climbing higher and momentum reviving, we can consider the possibility of further upside. Look to buy.
Key metrics:
P/E Ratio: 52.49
52-week high: ₹2,337.25,
Volume: 191.51K.
Technical analysis: Support at ₹1,780, resistance at ₹1,950.
Risk factors: Macroeconomic cycles, intense competition, significant debt burden, and commodity price volatility.
Buy: Above ₹1,870.
Stop loss: ₹1,800.
Target price: ₹2,030(2 months)
LAURUSLABS (Cmp ₹1,084.80)
Why it’s recommended: Laurus Labs Ltd is a global, research-driven Indian pharmaceutical and biotech company, known for being a major manufacturer of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs). The last week has been quite volatile, and with every decline, we can experience a sustained upmove. An encouraging move towards the close of the day, and with assistance from RSI, could influence the prices to move higher. Look to buy now.
Key metrics:
P/E: 85.77,
52-week high: ₹1,073.10,
Volume: 1.71M.
Technical analysis: Support at ₹1,040 | Resistance at ₹1,150.
Risk factors: Market volatility, regulatory changes by SEBI, and intense competitive pressure.
Buy: Above ₹1,088.
Stop loss: ₹1,072.
Target price: ₹1,115
PNBHOUSING (Cmp ₹966.30)
Why it’s recommended: PNB Housing Finance Ltd (PNB Housing) is a leading Indian housing finance company, incorporated in 1988 and promoted by Punjab National Bank, offering home loans, loans against property, commercial property loans, plot loans, and home improvement loans for individuals and corporates. A strong, long-bodied bullish candle, seen on Wednesday after some steady consolidation in the cloud region, augurs well for prices. With the RSI inching higher above 60 levels, we can look at the possibility of more upside in the coming days. Go long.
Key metrics:
P/E: 11.48,
52-week high: ₹1141.85,
Volume: 2.83M.
Technical analysis: Support at ₹900 | Resistance at ₹1,060.
Risk factors: Asset quality fluctuations, intense market competition, and sensitivity to macroeconomic factors.
Buy: Above ₹970.
Stop loss: ₹950.
Target price: ₹1,030.
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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