Best stocks to buy today—recommended by NeoTrader’s Raja Venkatraman

Here are three stocks to buy on Monday, 18 August, as recommended by NeoTrader’s Raja Venkatraman.

Emcure (Cmp ₹1454.80)

• Why it’s recommended: Emcure has recently reported encouraging quarter numbers that can now help it to stem the decline. The last two quarters with some encouraging numbers we can expect the trends to showcase some robustness. A positive long body candle clearly highlights the intent and the improving scenario will now push the trends towards new highs. A fresh uptick is momentum is encouraging.
• Key metrics: P/E: 69.02; 52-week high: ₹1580; Volume: 241.99K
• Technical analysis: Support at ₹1280, resistance at ₹1650.
• Risk factors: Regulatory and quality risks, raw material dependency, competition, legal issues, and potential disruptions in manufacturing and R&D.
• Buy: CMP and dips to ₹1400.
• Target price: ₹1540-1580 in 1 month.
• Stop loss: ₹1380.

• Why it’s recommended: Globus Spirits have been going through a rough patch and the strong push backed by volumes after its rounding pattern formation in July this year are suggesting a trended action . The last few days the prices have been consolidating and the strong push above value area resistance around 1130 augurs well for the prices. As momentum is also providing a favourable tailwind, we can consider some bullish prospects.
• Key metrics: P/E: 129.55; 52-week high: ₹1369.75; Volume: 102.59K
• Technical analysis: Support at ₹1110, resistance at ₹1400.
• Risk factors: Industry competition , market volatility, elongated operating tailwind.
• Buy: CMP and dips to ₹1160.
• Target price: ₹1325-1350 in 1 month.
• Stop loss: ₹1130.

Max Financial Services (Cmp ₹1598.30)

• Why it’s recommended: MFSL is primarily engaged in growing and nurturing business investments and providing management advisory services to its group companies. Momentum indicator clearly says that the trends are establishing themselves now with the prices moving above the cloud. Volumes are also building up and this can be a good trigger in the coming days.
• Key metrics: P/E: 163.10; 52-week high: ₹1668.95; Volume: 244.89K
• Technical analysis: Support at ₹1450, resistance at ₹1850.
• Risk factors: Potential breaches of safety norms and contract terms, Non-compliance with safety norms and contract terms.
• Buy: above ₹1600 and dips to ₹1550
• Target price: ₹1650-1675 in 1 month.
• Stop loss: ₹1530.

Stock Market Recap

Benchmark indices ended slightly higher on 14 August, extending gains for a second straight session amid volatile trade, as investors remained cautious ahead of the Trump–Putin summit.

The Sensex climbed 57.75 points, or 0.07%, to close at 80,597.66, while the Nifty rose 11.95 points, or 0.05%, to finish at 24,631.30. Meanwhile, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices slipped 0.2% and 0.6%, respectively.

Over the week, both the Sensex and Nifty added around a percent each, snapping a six-week losing streak. Major Nifty gainers included Wipro, Eternal, HDFC Life, Infosys and Asian Paints, while Tata Steel, Adani Ports, Tech Mahindra, Hero MotoCorp and Bharat Electronics were among the biggest decliners. Sectorally, metals and oil & gas fell about a percent each, realty and FMCG eased roughly 0.5%, and consumer durables alongside IT advanced approximately 0.5% apiece. Trading volumes remained overall subdued throughout the session.

Outlook for trading

Bulls are active and are exploiting the depths to resurface at every available opportunity. However, the inability to sustain trends at higher levels continues to drag the market down. After spending sufficient time in volatility, the gap scenario has dampened enthusiasm. There are pockets of bullishness that keep emerging, drawing some attention. As we approach the end of the current expiry, there is a possibility of an uptrend emerging, as rollover activity may take hold.

The intraday charts of Nifty show a ranging action that continues to be curtailed. Attempts to move higher last week could not sustain the upward drive that we saw. The strong move that we saw could not sustain, and the decline thereafter caught everyone by surprise. With moves above 24700, as anticipated, quickly nullified, we are now looking at some hesitation creeping into the markets.

The last few days have seen steady supply at higher levels. Immediate support on the downside is around 24500, which, if given away, could head towards 24000. Overall sentiment continues to remain muted, so it’s best to focus on intraday trading and use a dip buy and sell on rally approach to minimize the risk of participation.

The August series has been quite listless as the large-scale volatility has left every trader and investor bruised and battered. Despite the hope of bullishness, markets have been choppy. Sustaining higher levels has now become a perennial challenge.

The result season is now nearly over; however, the markets are unable to dispel the pessimism. The constant turbulence at every level has made it challenging for market participants to maintain a stable outlook. Uncertainty remains the underlying theme of the current market scenario. Despite efforts to stimulate a revival, the persistent supply at higher levels will continue to hold back any recovery. While we have tried to demonstrate some solidarity across the Indian hemisphere, there is still a great deal of untold misery.

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.