Stock market recap: Indian equity markets closed lower on Friday as weakness in metal, oil-linked, PSU bank, and realty stocks dragged indices, while persistent rupee depreciation dampened sentiment throughout the session. The Sensex slipped 160.73 points or 0.21% to settle at 75,237.99, and the Nifty declined 46.10 points or 0.19% to end at 23,643.50.
Three stocks to trade, recommended by NeoTrader’s Raja Venkatraman:
LATENTVIEW (Cmp ₹307.25)
LATENTVIEW: Buy above ₹310, stop ₹287 target ₹345 (Multiday)
- Why it’s recommended: Latent View Analytics is a prominent, Chennai-based data analytics and digital consulting firm. The company specializes in predictive analytics, AI solutions, data engineering, and business consulting. Since the start of the year the stock has been in decline and the last few days have been spent in consolidation. The last few quarters the numbers have been encouraging and could lead to an upmove. In the recent upmove we can observe that the trends have been consistent, with strong thrust with volumes sparks possibility to head higher. Go long.
- Key metrics:
- P/E: 67.53
- 52-week high: ₹1117.90,
- Volume: 1.31M
- Technical analysis: Support at ₹991, resistance at ₹1225.
- Risk factors: Extreme geographic revenue concentration with nearly 87% of sales derived from the US, exposing it to Western economic downturns.
- Buy : above ₹310.
- Stop loss: ₹287.
- Target price: ₹345 (2 Months)
AMBER (Cmp ₹8476.50)
AMBER: Buy above ₹8480, stop ₹8300 target ₹8950 (Multiday)
- Why it’s recommended: Amber Enterprises India Ltd (AMBER) is a leading Indian B2B solution provider and OEM/ODM, manufacturing everything from finished units to critical components like heat exchangers, motors, and PCBs. After some consolidation for the last 6 months the stock has shown some strong breakout on volumes indicating an onset of some fresh upward movement. A major acquisition in US could now accelerate the company’s progress. With aid from the momentum indicators one can consider to go long now.
- Key metrics:
- P/E: 205.94,
- 52-week high: ₹8970,
- Volume: 378.98K.
- Technical analysis: Support at ₹7900, resistance at ₹9500.
- Risk factors: Heavy reliance on a few key customers, raw material price volatility, and the weather-sensitive nature of the Room Air Conditioner (RAC) industry.
- Buy : above ₹8480
- Stop loss: ₹8300
- Target price: ₹8850 (2 Months)
GRAPHITE (Cmp ₹774.45)
GRAPHITE: Buy above ₹780, stop ₹740 target ₹855 (Multiday)
- Why it’s recommended: Graphite India Limited (GIL) is the largest producer of graphite electrodes in India, playing a critical role in the global steel sector by supplying materials used in Electric Arc Furnaces (EAFs). The robust volumes seen in the last two days post the Q4 numbers is indicating a fresh onset of momentum. Some brokerage upgrades despite uncertain market conditions highlights the strong potential in the prices. A long body candle seen in the last session is now helping the rise sustain the uncertain environment. With the momentum favouring the long side , consider going long.
- Key metrics:
- P/E Ratio: 37.95
- 52-week high: ₹802.20
- Volume: 5.94M
- Technical analysis: Support at ₹500, resistance at ₹925.
- Risk factors: Market competition, raw material cost volatility, and high valuation premiums.
- Buy : above ₹780.
- Stop loss: ₹740.
- Target price: ₹855.
Stock Market Recap
On 15 May 2026, market breadth remained weak, with 2,381 shares declining against 1,631 advancing, highlighting broad-based selling pressure.
Sectoral indices reflected the downturn, with Nifty Metal plunging nearly 2%, while PSU Bank, Realty, and Oil & Gas also registered sharp losses. Midcap and smallcap stocks underperformed the benchmarks, underscoring stress in the broader market.
Meanwhile, India VIX rose nearly 1%, signaling heightened volatility ahead. However, select sectors provided some cushion, as IT, Media, and FMCG stocks managed to close in positive territory. Overall, sentiment remained cautious, with currency weakness and sectoral drag weighing on investor confidence.
Outlook for Trading
The situation for the market was just getting better when the geopolitical conflict between Israel and Iran got worse. With no clarity emerging from the US, there are ripples across global markets, pushing crude oil prices higher due to concerns over supply disruptions, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz. Rising oil prices impact transportation, energy, and food costs, raising inflation risks just as central banks were beginning to ease policies.
The intraday charts shown below are also indicating that the recent reaction on Friday has dipped into some strong support zones around 23500. Going ahead, we note that the resistance zone around the 23800 mark would play a part in the market recovery. As trends tries its best to recover, we are now observing that the trendline support from the lower levels around 23500 will come in play.
A look at Bank Nifty indicates that room till 54500 has now opened up as the setup is getting ready to support the bulls attempt to rebound. Bank Nifty is a sector that should be tracked. Once 53300 is breached, there could be more pain extended with some stock-specific action. At the moment, there are divergent views being displayed across all the component stocks.
Banks are exhibiting bearishness making it difficult for the Bank Nifty to recover. This in turn will spill over to the other sectors like Auto, Realty and Finance. Despite markets on Monday showing some prowess of a recovery the inability of Bank Nifty to clear the 55100 mark seems limited in this curtailed week. Till then, this index holds the key for some trends to recover.
We are now observing that the Max Pain Point has shifted to 24200 while the PCR has remained below 1 indicating that the lower levels are being threatened once again. However, as one must accept the selling pressure shows up periodically to create some tension. As trends are unable to hold on to the bullish bias seen on Thursday, we continue to witness deterioration in prices thus leading the trends through some challenging times. Time for being alert as trends are firmly etched lower with no signs of recovery.
At the moment, the bearishness has not been profound, dragging the index much lower. Until we see Nifty move above 22800 decisively, we could have a sell on rally approach. Currently the Open Interest data highlights 22000 as the next set of supports emerging. 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.
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.