Vedanta can be stock of the year; Bandhan Bank may double in 12-18 months: Sanjiv Bhasin

On a year-to-date basis, the top gainer in his Rs 1,500-crore portfolio is smallcap civil construction stock Om Infra which has rallied 271%.

IIFL Securities' Sanjiv Bhasin recommends owning both IndusInd and HDFC Bank because of their strong return on equity, return on capital, and branch expansions. He also believes that Zomato is a no-brainer for the restaurant business and Paytm can be a huge outperformer with its financial arm in the offing. Bhasin agrees that the electronics manufacturing industry is in a sweet spot and companies like Havells and Voltas are doing extremely well. Additionally, he prefers IndusInd Bank, which he has personally invested in.

Sanjiv Bhasin of IIFL Securities recommends investing in consumption stocks like Voltas and Havells. He says real income is going to be generated now from the tier II, tier III, and the smaller rural class, where we are seeing unprecedented growth He is bullish on metals and recommends Vedanta and JSW. Bhasin mentions investments in Indiabulls Real Estate and Indiabulls Housing Finance.

Sanjiv Bhasin advises investing in private banks like HDFC Bank and is optimistic about HDFC, ICICI, and Kotak. Zee Entertainment's merger talks are back on and he is hopeful that after pain, gain is going to be very much on the cards. Auto sector remains strong with top picks being Maruti, Bosch, Ashok Leyland, and Hero Moto.

India surpasses Hong Kong to become the fourth-largest global hub of equities, trailing only the US, China, and Japan. However, the gap between Dalal Street and Wall Street is significant. The US market, with a total market capitalization of $51 trillion, is so massive that just two stocks, Apple and Microsoft, exceed the combined value of all 5,000-plus stocks listed in India. Meanwhile, the world's most valuable companies are Apple and Microsoft, followed by Saudi Aramco. In India, Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank are the largest stocks. HDFC Bank is the top candidate to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization, followed by RIL and Bajaj Finance. The Indian market is expected to continue growing, driven by foreign institutional investors and increasing retail participation.

We have the choice to hold a mishmash of stocks acquired with inadequate information, or a portfolio made up of the largest, liquid, profitable, actively traded, widely held stocks. It beats me why the sensible choice of holding an index doesnt appeal, compared to a poorly collated portfolio.

Share Market LIVE Updates: Benchmark indices are deep in red as they shed 1%. Sensex is trading just above 59,000 and Nifty drops 200 pts. Adani Enterprises, HDFC, and IndusInd Bank drag, while Tata Motors gains. All sectors are trading in the red with Bank, IT and Metal lagging the most.

In the last three days, including this morning when markets opened for trading, all those investors who have overloaded small caps in their portfolio have probably gone through three different emotions. Monday , my portfolio has gone dramatically, should I sell. Tuesday, my portfolio value has recovered, it was just a correction, should I buy more. This morning, once again why the value of my portfolio is down, should I sell. For all those who have gone through these emotions. Let the market be volatile, don't make volatile decisions. Corrections are part of any market and especially when valuations are high, the frequency and magnitude of correction will be higher. For all those who are looking to deploy more money and are focussed on small caps, it would be better to put more checks and balances, both qualitative and quantitative and be selective in buying stocks. More importantly, even after putting in all the efforts of checks and balances, be ready to see a short term drawn down in the value of your portfolio, because if there is a deep correction in the markets, small caps, stocks tend to shed more weight.

Sanjiv Bhasin highlights the strength of the cement sector, particularly UltraTech, ACC, and Ambuja. Cement is going through the roof. Look at the price. There is a cartel. 53% of market share is with five players. UltraTHe recommends buying Dalmia Cement on declines. Bhasin believes these stocks will continue to be re-rated and perform well in the current market.

Paytm's impact on the UPI setup and the digital app performance is a big blow with short-term repercussions. The manufacturing push, including the PLI scheme, is a major reform that will continue India's outperformance. The rural theme is gaining momentum with stable interest rates, moderating inflation, and good crop performance. The government's ability to balance economic and political factors is evident. Three stock ideas include Indiabulls Real Estate, which has a good risk-reward potential with the Embassy merger; Capri Global, an asset-light NBFC with strong growth prospects; and IOC, a largecap stock expected to double its profit this year.