New Delhi / Mumbai, December 22, 2025: India’s stock market entered the week with a cautiously positive tone, with traders watching the Nifty’s 26,000 resistance while tracking sector-specific momentum. In the spotlight on Monday, December 22, 2025, was Ashok Leyland (NSE: ASHOKLEY, BSE: 500477)—which pushed to a fresh record high as a major brokerage upgrade added fuel to an already-strong rally—while Revathi Equipment India (NSE: RVTH, BSE: 544246) remained a high-volatility counter where traders continued to debate whether recent rebounds are real recoveries or just resistance-led pullbacks. [1]
Ashok Leyland share price today: record high, strong momentum, and fresh catalysts
Ashok Leyland shares extended their late-2025 surge on Monday, setting a new all-time high near ₹177.35 intraday—a milestone that underscores how aggressively the market has repriced India’s commercial vehicle (CV) cycle winners in recent weeks. MarketsMojo described the move as a notable “highest price level” for the stock, with outperformance versus its sector on the day. [2]
Price action also reflected in broader market data: Investing.com’s session snapshot for Dec. 22, 2025 showed Ashok Leyland trading around the ₹174–₹177 zone with a day high in the ₹177+ range, reinforcing that the breakout wasn’t incremental—it was a decisive push into uncharted territory. [3]
The headline catalyst on Dec. 22: Nomura’s highest target price yet
The day’s most-discussed fundamental trigger came from Nomura, which raised its target price on Ashok Leyland to ₹196 from ₹174 and reiterated a Buy rating—describing the company as a key beneficiary of a strengthening CV upcycle. NDTV Profit reported this new target as the highest among brokerages tracked by Bloomberg, implying roughly ~14% upside from then-current levels (as per the report’s framing). [4]
Nomura’s bullish case leaned on a mix of cycle and execution:
- MHCV market share holding steady around 29–30%, a key sign of resilience as demand improves. [5]
- A meaningful step-up in LCV market share, improving to about 11% in FY25 from roughly 5% in FY24, which Nomura linked to product acceptance and traction in newer platforms. [6]
- Export volumes growing over 50% in H1 FY26, driven by demand across GCC, Africa, and SAARC markets, strengthening the diversification story. [7]
- An expectation that EBITDA margins could rise from about 13.5% in FY26 to 14.5% by FY28, supported by operating leverage, richer mix, and exports. [8]
Nomura also raised its multi-year volume assumptions for MHCV and total CV, while flagging risks like consumption-linked freight softness and the possibility that higher regulatory costs may not be fully passed on. [9]
Why Ashok Leyland is rallying in 2025: earnings narrative meets “CV upcycle” positioning
The stock’s record run didn’t start today—it’s been building. A widely-shared Mint analysis from mid-December captured why many investors stayed constructive even after the stock printed successive highs.
Mint noted that on December 18, 2025, Ashok Leyland hit a fresh 52-week high of ₹171.75 intraday, and highlighted the scale of the rally from the year’s 52-week low of ₹95.20 on April 7, 2025. Mint pegged the stock’s gain at roughly ~56% year-to-date, crediting a blend of earnings delivery and macro tailwinds. [10]
The fundamental talking points traders keep returning to
According to Mint’s reporting of analyst commentary, the rally has been supported by:
- Q2 FY26 performance: Mint cited analyst notes that Ashok Leyland delivered ~9% YoY revenue growth to ₹9,590 crore, driven by ~8% volume growth and improved realizations; EBITDA rose ~14.3% YoY, with margin expanding from 11.6% to 12.1%. [11]
- A narrative of disciplined cost control and “premiumisation,” with commentary pointing to double-digit EBITDA sustained across multiple quarters. [12]
- Market positioning across segments: Mint referenced Ashok Leyland’s strength in buses and meaningful presence in MHCV, along with a growing strategic push in exports and adjacencies. [13]
This is also where the “big picture” meets today’s brokerage move: Nomura’s Dec. 22 upgrade effectively amplified the same themes—share stability, improving mix, export momentum, and margin trajectory—but with a sharper valuation stamp via the ₹196 target. [14]
Ashok Leyland technical analysis: traders debate ₹182 vs ₹200—and where risk rises
As the stock enters record territory, the market’s focus naturally shifts from “why it’s going up” to “how far can it go before it cools off?”
BusinessLine’s tactical trade plan: buy near ₹172, target ₹182
A popular short-term trading setup circulating among market participants came from BusinessLine’s technical commentary (syndicated via Trendlyne). The note argued that Ashok Leyland made a bullish channel breakout, keeping the broader uptrend intact, and identified:
- Support near ₹164
- Buy around ₹172, accumulate on dips near ₹166
- Stop-loss at ₹162
- Exit / target near ₹182 over the coming weeks, with specific instructions to trail stops higher as the stock moves toward ₹177–₹180 [15]
That plan matters today because the stock has already moved into the zone where trailing stops and profit protection typically dominate decision-making—especially after a breakout becomes consensus.
Mint’s technical lens: resistance near ₹170–₹175 was key; next marker ₹200 if sustained
Mint’s technical section also flagged the risk of “stretched” price action after a sharp run-up, pointing out that the stock was trading well above short-term averages—often a precursor to mean reversion or consolidation. Another technical view in the same report described ₹170–₹175 as a psychological resistance area, adding that if the stock sustains above that zone, ₹200 becomes a level to watch, while ₹150–₹155 was cited as a support band (with deeper support near ₹135 in that view). [16]
What that means on Dec. 22: the market is effectively running two technical narratives in parallel:
- The measured trade (₹182): ride the breakout, trail stops, take profits into a defined target zone. [17]
- The momentum extension (₹200): if record highs hold and the stock consolidates constructively, the next “round-number magnet” becomes plausible—though risk-reward worsens if entries chase. [18]
Derivatives and positioning: Ashok Leyland among top F&O open interest movers
Alongside spot-market strength, derivatives activity signaled heightened trader attention. The Economic Times reported on Dec. 22, 2025 that Ashok Leyland was among F&O stocks showing a sharp rise in futures open interest, with data cited “as of December 19” indicating open interest up about 6.51% for Ashok Leyland futures (in the context of other major OI movers). [19]
Rising OI alongside price strength is often read as an “engagement” signal—more participants are entering or adding positions—though it does not, by itself, guarantee direction.
The market backdrop on Dec. 22: Nifty optimism, but 26,000 is still the battleground
Today’s single-stock action is also playing out against a broader index setup. The Economic Times said the near-term Nifty outlook has turned cautiously positive, citing a stronger rupee, improved technical signals, and renewed FII buying interest—while emphasizing that 26,000 remains a key resistance and that volatility/consolidation is still possible. [20]
For momentum stocks like Ashok Leyland, this matters because breakouts tend to sustain more reliably when the index environment is supportive. Conversely, if the index fails repeatedly at a major level, even leaders can pause or correct.
Revathi Equipment India share price: rebound attempts meet resistance after a brutal downtrend
While Ashok Leyland represents the “upcycle winner” narrative, Revathi Equipment India has been a very different story—one where price action has been dominated by drawdowns, liquidity sensitivity, and sharp swings.
ICICI Direct’s market snapshot showed Revathi Equipment India around ₹715 (Dec. 22, 2025), with the stock still down heavily over longer horizons—roughly ~65% lower over the past year in that view—while its 52-week band stretched from about ₹689.85 (low) to ₹2,195 (high), highlighting the magnitude of the decline. [21]
Kotak Securities’ intraday description for Dec. 22 also reflected choppy trading behavior—prices moving within a broad band (roughly ₹700 to ₹731.75 during the session) even as the stock remained far below prior peaks. [22]
What the “fails to break resistance” theme looks like in real market terms
The user-linked theme—Revathi Equipment failing to break resistance—fits the broader setup visible in recent reporting: rallies have struggled to convert into trend reversals.
MarketsMojo’s mid-December coverage described Revathi Equipment India hitting a fresh 52-week low and emphasized that the stock was trading below multiple key moving averages, a classic sign that rebounds can face selling pressure at overhead levels. It also cited financial stress signals, including weaker sales versus recent averages and constrained profitability metrics. [23]
Even without a single “magic resistance number” agreeing across platforms, the structure is familiar to traders:
- When a stock is below major moving averages, every bounce tends to meet supply from trapped holders looking to exit. [24]
- When liquidity is relatively thinner (common in micro-caps), price can swing sharply, making “breakouts” harder to trust without volume confirmation.
A quick refresher: what Revathi Equipment India does, and why it’s on investor screens
ICICI Direct’s company background notes that Revathi Equipment India is engaged in manufacturing and marketing drilling rigs used in mining and construction applications, and references a corporate restructuring history in which a drilling equipment business was demerged and transferred under a scheme approved by the NCLT, with the resulting company renamed Revathi Equipment India Limited. [25]
That industrial linkage—mining capex, infrastructure cycles, and commodity-linked demand—can create periods of sharp optimism. But the last year’s price action suggests the market has been repricing risk aggressively.
What investors and traders are watching next
For Ashok Leyland
- Follow-through after record highs: whether the stock holds above the former resistance zone and consolidates without heavy distribution. [26]
- Brokerage narrative durability: Nomura’s ₹196 target raises expectations for volume and margin delivery—investors will watch for updates that validate export momentum and margin expansion assumptions. [27]
- F&O cues: whether open interest continues to build alongside price—or flips into long unwinding if momentum fades. [28]
For Revathi Equipment India
- Whether rebounds can clear overhead supply: the market will likely keep treating rallies as “tests” until the stock regains key trend markers and improves consistency in results. [29]
- Liquidity and volatility management: wide ranges (like the ~₹700–₹731 band described for Dec. 22) can remain a feature, not a bug, in micro-caps. [30]
Bottom line on Dec. 22, 2025: Ashok Leyland is trading like a market leader with expanding institutional confidence, reinforced today by Nomura’s bullish reset and record-high price action. Revathi Equipment, meanwhile, remains a technically fragile counter where “resistance” is not just a chart line—it’s the weight of a prolonged downtrend and cautious risk appetite.
References
1. m.economictimes.com, 2. www.marketsmojo.com, 3. www.investing.com, 4. www.ndtvprofit.com, 5. www.ndtvprofit.com, 6. www.ndtvprofit.com, 7. www.ndtvprofit.com, 8. www.ndtvprofit.com, 9. www.ndtvprofit.com, 10. www.livemint.com, 11. www.livemint.com, 12. www.livemint.com, 13. www.livemint.com, 14. www.ndtvprofit.com, 15. trendlyne.com, 16. www.livemint.com, 17. trendlyne.com, 18. www.livemint.com, 19. m.economictimes.com, 20. m.economictimes.com, 21. www.icicidirect.com, 22. www.kotaksecurities.com, 23. www.marketsmojo.com, 24. www.marketsmojo.com, 25. www.icicidirect.com, 26. www.marketsmojo.com, 27. www.ndtvprofit.com, 28. m.economictimes.com, 29. www.marketsmojo.com, 30. www.kotaksecurities.com
