Stocks to buy: Raja Venkatraman's top picks for 12 December

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Buoyed by the Fed rate cut, strong buying activity from lower price levels clearly signals an encouraging revival toward the upside. Although resistance persists at higher levels, the market's immediate downward pressure has eased.

The Sensex climbed 400.62 points (0.47%) to close at 84,791.90, after swinging between highs and lows during a volatile derivatives expiry session. Similarly, the Nifty50 advanced 136.55 points (0.53%) to settle at 25,894.55, ending near its intraday peak as investors cheered the U.S. Federal Reserve’s 25-basis-point rate cut, which boosted global risk appetite.

Sectoral indices across the board finished in the green, led by auto, pharma, PSU banks, private banks, metals, and realty, each gaining 0.5-1%. Market breadth remained positive, with mid- and small-cap indices also contributing to the uptrend. Among individual performers, Eternal, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Jio Financial Services rose up to 2%, while Trent and Bharti Airtel slipped nearly 1%.

Overall, the session reflected renewed optimism, with 1,869 stocks advancing against 1,575 declines. After a sharp decline the much-wanted relief rally did emerge on the Sensex expiry as the Fed rate cut produced a strong upward bounce. Overall sentiment still remains cautious, but moves in select stocks is keeping momentum alive.

On the daily charts we can see the breach of the KS lines that were important supports. Additional support in the form of a gap support region remains the zone to watch. Levels of around 25,700 once again came to the rescue and hold back selling pressure.