ITC, Voltas, PB Fintech: These 44 BSE 500 stocks defied gravity in this falling market; do you own any
Despite the ongoing weakness in the domestic stock market, as many as 44 stocks in the BSE 500 index have still managed to deliver double-digit returns to investors in the ongoing calendar year. The benchmark index of shares BSE Sensex has fallen around 5 percent so far this year due to muted global cues, heavy selling by foreign institutional investors and rising interest rates.
The 30-share index fell to 57,989 on March 17, 2023 from 60,840 on December 30, 2022. On the other hand, the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices plunged 4.75 percent and 6 percent in the same period.
With a rally of 47 percent YTD, Finolex Cables emerged as the top gainer on the list. Shares of the company climbed to Rs 805.55 on March 17 from Rs 546.55 on December 30 last year. Finolex Cables is India’s largest manufacturer of electrical (80 percent of revenue) and telecommunication cables (16 percent). The company has a large distribution network with high brand recall. Revenue of the company in Q3FY23 grew by 18 percent YoY, while PAT increased by 42 percent YoY, mainly led by strong volume.
It was followed by Sonata Software (up 42 percent), PB Fintech (up 32 percent), Zensar Technologies (up 30 percent), Symphony (up 26 percent) and Medplus Health Services (up 26 percent). IIFL Securities is further bullish on PB Fintech with a target price of Rs 700.
While sharing his investment strategy, G Chokkalingam, founder, Equinomics Research and Advisory said, “It is time to tilt towards large caps as small and midcaps are likely to be under pressure for another couple of months. One can consider large cap stocks in sectors such as auto, telecom, grocery and private banks. In the large corporate, we are bullish on Maruti Suzuki, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Titan.”
Coming back to other big winners in the list, KPIT Technologies, Oil India, ABB India, NCC, Jindal Stainless, Cummins India, Procter & Gamble Health, Blue Star, Persistent Systems, Lloyds Metals & Energy, Cyient, Cera Sanitaryware, Thermax, Mahanagar Gas, Radico Khaitan, Equitas Small Finance Bank, Elgi Equipments, Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy, Siemens, Triveni Turbine and GAIL (India) have also gained somewhere between 15 percent and 23 percent so far this year.
When asked which sectors could deliver big gains going forward, Anand Shah, Head of Portfolio Management Services (PMS) and Alternative Investment Funds (AIF), ICICI Prudential AMC said: “We are bullish on manufacturing themes including auto, metal, capital goods. Engineering, logistics – and the banking sectors also look attractive to us. However, we are wary of the IT sector.”
Data further highlighted that ZF Commercial Vehicle Control Systems India, Zydus Lifesciences, Indiamart Intermesh, APL Apollo Tubes, ITC, KPR Mill, Gujarat Pipavav Port, Polycab India, Tech Mahindra, KEI Industries, Hindustan Aeronautics, Power Finance Corporation, Anupam Rasayan India, Linde India, Carborundum Universal, Firstsource Solutions and Voltas also gained over 10 percent in 2023 to March 17.
What should investors do in this falling market? Nilesh Jain of Centrum Broking told Business Today TV that the NSE Nifty index is heading towards 16,500. “It is better to adopt a sector and stock specific approach amid the ongoing uncertainty in the domestic stock market. The focus is shifting a bit towards defensive and safe bets,” Jain said. The NSE Nifty index was trading at 16,850 in afternoon trade on March 20.
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