Raja Venkatraman recommends three stocks for 21 July

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Indian equity markets closed lower on 20 July 2026, as private banking stocks came under heavy selling pressure following their June-quarter earnings, amid weak global cues and rising geopolitical tensions in West Asia.

By close, the Sensex slipped 442 points or 0.57% to 77,708, while the Nifty fell 95 points or 0.39% to 24,238.

Indian equity markets closed lower on 20 July 2026, as private banking stocks came under heavy selling pressure following their June-quarter earnings, coupled with weak global cues amid rising geopolitical tensions in West Asia. Crude oil prices surged past $90 per barrel, dampening investor sentiment and dragging the Nifty below 24,200 at the open. However, renewed buying in the latter half of the session helped benchmarks recover a large part of the intraday losses.

By close, the Sensex slipped 442 points or 0.57% to 77,708, while the Nifty fell 95 points or 0.39% to 24,238. Broader markets outperformed, with midcaps gaining 0.6% and smallcaps ending slightly positive. Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Jio Financial Services led the losers, while Trent, Cipla, Power Grid, Bharti Airtel, and JSW Steel were among the top gainers. Sectoral action was mixed, with PSU Banks (+2.8%) and Pharma (+1.4%) standing out as strong performers.

Higher levels continue to be a selling zone thus making it extremely challenging to carve out a recovery. Looking ahead we need to structure a pathway where we need to find a middle path as the trends have become very challenging to revive.

The technical setup revealed a "confused" trend, largely due to the support found at lower levels even as the formation of lower lows driven many participants away from the market

The temperament in the current market is seen dissipating as the overall trends are not able to generate a steady upward bias. In the last few days we have noted that the trends have been supressed and is showing constant inability to move higher.

The formation of lower lows has taken away lot of market participants away. However , as we shift to the technical setup, we note that the trends are staying confused due to the support offered by the lower levels. However, we should note that the trends are indicating some hesitation as the formation of smaller body candles are clearly emphasising the emergence of a trend that could appear at any time.

The momentum continues to desert us as the lack of willingness is very clearly visible on the charts. The sudden sell off at higher levels is leading us to reconsider the overall market scenario. The renewed geopolitical tensions will keep the tensions brewing until there is some clear evidence of the geopolitical newsflow relating to the war nearing its end. At the current juncture we need to relook at how to position ourselves in this market as the trends are not going to be easy to decipher and will force us to be very selective in our approach.

There is some attempt being made at covering the shorts, but the lack of buying interest is keeping the lid on the recovery scenario. With an attempt to move out of a ranging action, a possible short covering action may emerge today. Now, we can observe that Nifty would look at 23750, which has now turned into the next set of resistances for the recovery. We can look at how to use every pullback to buy into.

Once again, we end the week on a very dicey note as we await a more confirmed signal from seeing Nifty moving below 24000 decisively. The Open Interest data retains that 24100 as the Max Pain Point that will come into play. With ranging market in play, its best to tone down the participation.

Raja Venkatraman is co-founder, NeoTrader. His Sebi-registered research analyst registration no. is INH000016223.

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