Chakri Lokapriya on how to play defence and premiumisation themes

“ if you look at most of the largecap names like Reliance, HDFC Bank and if you look slightly longer over the last say 12 months or so, even ICICI Bank has not done anything. Given the fact that both Reliance and HDFC Banks stocks have got a considerable weightage and they have not performed, that actually makes the case that when they start performing next year, there is a good probability that the largecaps might outperform midcaps for some time.”

In a financial year where the number of stocks gained is much larger than stocks that end in red, there are some surprises in the list of stocks that have ended FY 24 in red. Surprise because of two reasons. First, these are all largecap stocks where fundamentals are surely not in doubt. They have consistently seen earnings inching upward. Yes, one can have a debate about the rate of growth at which earnings have been less than satisfactory. But then they have grown, except in 3 cases, where one can argue that earnings are just refusing to move up. The second surprise is that some of them have created great wealth over the long term. So, if they have not been able to gain in one year should one ignore them. The list is filled with major surprises, a company that is amongst the top ten stocks in terms of market capitalization in the Indian stock market. History has shown that in the stock market, if the fundamentals of a company are fine, then sooner or later they make a comeback.

Is '25 din mein paisa double' possible in stock markets without doing any 'Hera Pheri'? We ran a screener and found that at least 6 stocks have more than doubled wealth. But those new to the market must not forget that investing is a long-term business and not a get-rich-quick scheme. '25 din mein paisa double' is an exception and not the rule.

The stocks of corporations that support an economy are known as blue chip companies. These businesses are well-capitalised, have a solid track record of earnings, are industry leaders, and have bright futures.

Gas stocks have been underperforming the market for quite some time. The argument against them has been multifold, right from stagnation in terms of volume growth, companies not being able to expand in newer areas and the latest one being the threat from EV. Couple of months back, an announcement about pushing the electric vehicle (EV) more aggressively in Delhi, brought pressure on the stocks like IGL. While there is no doubt that over a period of time, EV will dominate, does it mean the end of the business of the gas companies? The answer is probably no, there are many other use cases and narrative about negative impact might be over stretched. Also the street might be ignoring the fact that these companies have enough cash on the balance sheet and also cash flows from existing lines of business to move into new areas which are part of the EV eco system.

While investing in stocks always comes with risks, these stocks pose unique challenges.

Indian stock market to focus on defense stocks post DAC meeting allocating ₹80,000 crore order. Experts foresee value buying for defense companies with strong CAPEX on Monday

Kunal Shah highlights Nifty Smallcap's LIFO model and market volatility. Nifty index remains bearish, with strong support at 21900-21850. Nifty Bank sees resistance at 47000 and support at 46500. Consider SIP for investment strategies in the market. Shah also says: The support zone at 8200 could serve as an excellent opportunity to add new long positions across the entire basket of stocks.

The overall market capitalisation of listed stocks crossed $4 trillion for the first time ever this year, with India ranking 4th in the world in terms of market capitalisation.

Around 212 stocks of companies with a minimum market capitalisation of Rs 500 crore have eroded investors wealth considerably in the first half of 2023, as per data analysed by ETMarkets. Most of the laggards were midcaps and smallcaps, though the broader markets have outperformed the largecaps in recent months. Adani Group companies dominated the list, with Adani Total Gas falling more than 82% YTD. Infosys was the worst performing stock in the frontline IT pack, and Hindalco Industries was among the severely affected largecap metal companies due to a demand slowdown.