Raja Venkatraman recommends two stocks for 22 October

Trends are completely confused and the constant gyrations on either side of the trends have left everyone wondering where the markets are headed. The redeeming fact as we enter the last day of this expiry is that the overall sentiment is ruptured and would take some time.

On 21 October 2026, Indian equities slipped for the second consecutive session, with benchmarks unable to sustain early gains. The Nifty closed at 22,811.35, down 77.60 points or 0.34%, while the Sensex settled at 73,709.69, losing 143.21 points or 0.19%.

Two stocks to trade, recommended by NeoTrader’s Raja Venkatraman:

CASTROLIND (Cmp 196.19)

CASTROLIND: Buy above ₹198, stop ₹188 target ₹211 (Multiday)

• Why it’s recommended: Castrol India Limited is India's second-largest automotive and industrial lubricant manufacturer, holding roughly a 20% market share. Since July 2026 the stock has been forming a rounding pattern and is using the pullback into the cloud and the Tenkan Sen to generate some upward momentum. With the overall push seen from the rising Crude Oil prices we can expect the prices to scale higher. As value support region from TS & KS lines is indicating some strong push, we can see the upmove emerge. There is strong buying interest developing and support from Relative Strength Index(RSI) could help the prices rebound. Go long.
• Key metrics:
  • P/E Ratio : 18.34,
  • 52-week high: ₹203.30
  • Volume: 2.6M
• Technical analysis: Support at ₹188, resistance at ₹398.
• Risk factors: ICE Fleet Erosion, Base Oil Dependency and Rupee Depreciation.
• Buy : above ₹198.
• Stop loss: ₹188.
• Target price: ₹211 (2 Months)

COCHINSHIP (Cmp 1177.80)

COCHINSHIP: Sell below ₹1175, stop ₹1225 target ₹1075 (Multiday)

• Why it’s recommended: COCHINSHIP builds and repairs a wide range of defense and commercial vessels, including India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant. After spending nearly 3 months in a consolidating phase since listing the stock saw some firm upmove in June 2026. In the recent revival a sharp profit booking dragged the prices towards support at the TS & KS bands and the reversal gathered steam on Monday. A negative long body candle to end the previous trading session in line with the market sell off indicates some strong selling interest. Go short.
• Key metrics:
  • P/E Ratio : 51.91,
  • 52-week high: ₹1186.55,
  • Volume: 891.56K
• Technical analysis: Support at ₹400, resistance at ₹640.
• Risk factors: Industry cyclicality, high promoter pledge levels, and execution challenges.
• Sell : below ₹1175.
• Stop loss: ₹1225.
• Target price: ₹1075 (2 Months)

Stock market recap

Despite initial strength in IT stocks, selling pressure in autos, metals, and financials dragged the indices lower. Market breadth was weak, with declines far outnumbering advances, and more than 360 stocks hitting fresh 52-week lows. Volatility also picked up, as India VIX rose nearly 7% to 15.79, reflecting rising investor anxiety.

Sectorally, IT was the lone bright spot, gaining over 2.5% on sustained earnings-driven momentum, with Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS, and HCL Tech among the top gainers. In contrast, auto, consumer durables, energy, media, metals, pharma, realty, and private banks all fell between 1–2%. Broader indices extended weakness, with Nifty Midcap down 1.58% and Smallcap slipping 2.37%, marking their fourth straight decline.

Outlook for trading

Despite the best intentions the market could not conjure up enough strength to continue its upward march seen on Monday. We had mentioned 22200 as an important zone that continues to be held. The selling in the last few days has reduced however; the lack of clarity is demanding that we need more encouraging tailwinds to move above 24300. The steady attempt to buy on every dip has once again been negated as the inability of the bulls to contain the selling pressure has failed on the backdrop of pessimistic geopolitical newsflows.

We saw a determined push by the bulls in the last week above the important mark of 23100. However, the momentum could not carry Nifty decisively beyond these levels. Unlike the last strong Q1 performance this time around the trends are caught once again in the cross fire of the US Iran war.

With so much volatility demonstrated the Nifty truly has kept the trends guessing the next move. As seen on the charts the reaction that we are noticing now important support of around 22000 would now need to be defended. From the charts below, we can observe that the median line Tenkan Sen shall continue to keep a handle on any recovery that we will witness . This will in effect make the 23500 as a very important role in the coming series. A close above this level would unfold more possibility to head higher. The recent price action is seen holding the above the Ichimoku cloud and will now look to defend against the selloff. But here you have the market displaying rapid shifts in moods and it also seems like operators are taking strong advantage of this.

Nifty is struggling to cross 23100 zone first and will now need more triggers as selling pressure continues to emerge at higher levels. With the Open Interest data clearly indicating market is now divided as lower levels are being bought into. The data reveals that the Max Pain point has now moved to 22900 as we need to see how this level holds on Thursday to decide the way forward.

Technically, Nifty formed a bearish candle with selling pressure at higher levels, slipping below its 20-day EMA. Immediate support lies around 22,630–22,650, while resistance is seen near 22,960–22,980. The session highlighted IT sector resilience amid broad weakness, with traders watching earnings flows and global cues for the next directional move.

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.