Raja Venkatraman recommends three stocks for 20 August | Stock Market News

Stock-market update: Selling pressure has eroded momentum, leaving the market unable to mount a meaningful rebound. Despite stronger earnings and supportive global cues, the willingness to fight back has not materialized, and prices have gradually given way under persistent declines.

Best stocks to buy today (all buy trades are rates of equity and sell rates are based on F&O)

Petronet LNG Ltd: Buy above ₹290 | Stop ₹278 | Target ₹325 (multiday)

Ambuja Cements Ltd: Sell below ₹406 | Stop ₹427 | Target ₹370 (multiday)

Stock market recap: Indian equities ended on a subdued note on Wednesday, 19 August 2026, as investors balanced supportive global cues with domestic pressures. The Nifty 50 slipped 0.14% to close at 24,288.10, while the Sensex edged up 0.10% to 78,225.40 after a volatile session influenced by derivatives expiry. Elevated crude prices near $88 per barrel continued to weigh on sentiment, raising concerns over inflation and fiscal balances.

Banking and financial stocks fell around 0.4%, as uncertainty over the Reserve Bank of India’s draft loan-pricing rules clouded earnings visibility. Broader markets showed resilience, with small-caps gaining 0.3% and mid-caps rising 0.2% on selective buying. Tata Motors extended its rally, advancing 3.1% on strong quarterly results and a firm demand outlook, while Tata Group shares steadied after recent leadership-related volatility. Overall, ten of sixteen sectors ended lower, reflecting cautious positioning despite easing U.S. rate-hike worries and supportive global sentiment.

The Nifty 50 has now slipped for the seventh straight session, marking its longest losing streak since September 2025. On Wednesday, the index briefly fell below 24,050, edging dangerously close to the key 24,000 level, and has shed over 2% in just a week. What’s worrying investors is not just the decline itself, but the market’s muted response to stronger-than-expected Q1 earnings and hopes of a corporate recovery.

The bigger drag remains elevated crude oil prices, driven by the ongoing conflict in West Asia. For India, which imports nearly 80–85% of its oil needs, sustained high prices pose a serious risk to fiscal health and inflation. Rising energy costs could force interest-rate hikes, squeeze corporate margins, and slow economic growth. This combination of geopolitical uncertainty and domestic vulnerability has left traders cautious, even as earnings momentum suggests the fundamentals should be stronger.

Trends are under stress at the moment as bearish pressure intensifies. The supports are repeatedly broken, leading to chaos as the profit-booking scenario and the sustained sell-off seen across the board are igniting a wave of selling pressure. At the moment, bearish pressure has pushed the index below 24,100, as mentioned yesterday, to challenge support at 24,000, and every attempt at a recovery is failing. As we have been mentioning, if we move decisively below 24300, the Open Interest data still shows 24,200 as the Max Pain Point that will come into play. With a slow gyrating market in play, it's best to tone down the participation or engage on the short side.

At the moment, the important supports are clearly not able to come into force as per the Open Interest data. If we witness a 30-minute range breakout on Wednesday, we can consider trading on either side, as the trend remains tentative and we expect some resistance to kick in.

While the trends in the indices are unclear under pressure, there is plenty of action on both sides of the stocks.

Why it’s recommended: Petronet LNG Ltd is a major Indian energy company that imports, stores, and turns liquefied natural gas back into gas. Since March 2026, the stock has been forming higher lows, with prices taking support at the Tenkan Sen and Kijun Sen lines and slowly heading higher. The negative Q1 numbers and the revival of the rounding pattern are adding to buying interest, generating an upward bias. The burst of volume above, near the support zones, has been attracting some buying interest, suggesting a revival. With the Directional Index firmly inching higher, it can lead to a strong upward move in the coming weeks. Go long.

Technical analysis: Support at ₹270 | Resistance at ₹350.

Risk factors: Supply chain and shipping disruptions from key Middle East partners, low asset utilization at secondary terminals like Kochi, and execution risks tied to its large capital expenditure diversification into petrochemicals

Why it’s recommended: ⁠Ambuja Cements Ltd is a top Indian cement maker founded in 1981. It is now part of the Adani Group. The company makes and sells cement and concrete across India. The negative Q1 numbers impacted its recovery, and the slide for the second week of August accelerated as the market gave up its upside aspirations. With the prices reflecting a sustained selling and the Cement sector showing strong resilience, we consider going long. A consolidation breakdown with some steady volumes, which indicates a potential decline in the store. Consider going short.

Technical analysis: Support at ₹350 | Resistance at ₹450.

Risk factors: Operational supply vulnerabilities, volatile input inflation, integration delays, and cyclical market pressures.

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.

Raja Venkatraman is the co-founder of NeoTrader, where he heads the training division. He conducts both offline and live market workshops, seminars, and webinars. He has been working under the guidance of Dr C K Narayan, his mentor and founder of Growth Avenues, for more than 20 years. He is an active trader in multiple asset classes, and actively shares his views on YouTube, blogs at NeoTrader, and on reputed news channels and websites. His Sebi-registered research analyst registration no. is INH000016223.

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