Rated or unrated; stocks from select sectors might be tactical buys due to climatic or trade related issue

Capital good companies had faced tough times for many years. Given the fact that hardly any capacity buildup was taking place in any industry, a number had to change their product portfolio and had to live with very low margins. But all the efforts have now started to show some results. Given the performance of the stock, a large majority of these stocks have hold recommendations from the analysts.

Cement has been a sector where most of the analysts have been caught off guards. The stocks have done well and a large number of analysts have been sticking to their stands that pricing and capacity utilization is an issue. What they probably ignored was the fact that any industry which has been facing headwinds for a long time tends to sort the issues and few players are able to make a comeback as consolidation takes place. Pretty much what we have seen in power.

Recent climatic conditions in parts of Pakistan and China have led to sudden rise in the price of rice globally. In order to ensure that domestic prices stay under control, a ban on non-basmati white rice was imposed this week. Will this bring an opportunity for rice exporting companies which export basmati rice ? However the agro sector is not very well covered by analysts, not many stocks have a recommendation, probably because they are largely small and mid-cap in nature.

In 2008, the IPO of a power company got subscribed in less than a minute of its opening and the size of that issue was Rs 11,563 crore. This just shows the desire to own power sector stocks at that point of time. From those days of frenzy to the nadir in 2014, when power companies were on the top of the list of NPA of the banks. Power companies have seen both the extreme of valuations. It is a sector where after many failures and to some extent a consolidation, some companies have emerged which know how to deal with all kinds of economic and industry cycles. That is probably the reason why a number of companies from the power sector have seen a sharp re-rating in the last one year. Hoping the survivors have learnt their lessons.

Recent reports indicate a decline in cement prices, causing a significant correction in cement stocks. However, it's important to consider broader factors before making investment or trading decisions in the cement sector. Despite a temporary price dip, the sector continues to benefit from increased demand driven by infrastructure projects and improved balance sheet quality. This suggests the sector's long-term prospects remain intact despite short-term price fluctuations.

In case of cement the prices are driven by domestic demand and supply dynamics and input costs matrix. With the continued focus on infrastructure, most of the small and mid-cap companies have been able to improve the quality of their balance sheet in the last nine years. We take a look at what analysts are saying across small and midcap cement companies. ET screener powered by Refinitiv’s Stock Report Plus applies different algorithms & filters to all BSE and NSE stocks, and lists down stocks which fulfill the various criteria as specified into the algorithms & filters.

While the recent performance of stocks like REC, PFC and recently listed IRDEA has brought focus back to one segment of power companies. But the fact is that in the last few years, the sector has been going through a consolidation. Some of it was forced by the banks due to many companies going under the IBC and some due to the fact that any industry which has gone through a troubled phase of almost a decade, the players who are able to survive tend to get more attention because they have learnt the art of surviving a tough phase which is one most important feature for long term survival. Power sector stocks are now catching up with what the market has witnessed in the last few years.

Power sector is one, where some basic principles of economics are turned upside down. Despite the fact that demand is always more than supply, the companies in this sector find it difficult to survive. Why does it happen and will it ever change? The story has a list of PSU power companies with“buy” and “strong buy”, reco from analysts.

The share of wheat and rice in the countrys total crop output has increased since 2014-15, despite the focus to move farmers away from these crops, according to official data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.