Both the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed last week after posting good gains on Friday. Sensex surged by over 847 points to reach 72,568 while Nifty gained 247 points to reach 21,894. With the onset of earnings season, the bulls appear to have regained control of the market after a tepid start to the year.
Commenting on the performance of the markets last week, Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said,“ Nifty is now just 100 points away from crossing another milestone of 22k zone. In the coming week, market will take cues from Q3 results, India’s inflation, and US PPI data. HDFC Bank, HUL, Ultratech, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints, and several midcap companies will announce their Q3 results next week. Thus, we might see stock-specific action. US markets will remain closed on Monday.”
More firms are expected to come out with their results over the next few weeks which will entail stock specific actions across the indices. As markets open this week, here are the top stocks to watch:
1) ONGC: The state owned firm has made back to back natural gas discoveries, with the recent one in Mahanadi basin. Its shares had closed at Rs 224 after gaining 5.74 per cent on Friday.
2) Wipro: On January 12, the firm reported a 12 per cent yoy fall in net profits. This is the fourth consecutive quarter of declining profits. Its shares gained 3.97 per cent to close at Rs 466 on Friday.
3) Tata Consumer: The firm has announced deals to acquire Capital Foods for Rs 5,100 crore and Organic India for Rs 1,900 crore. Its shares gained 3.11 per cent to close at Rs 1,154.
4) BHEL: The company was awarded the engineering procurement and construction contract for a thermal power plant in Odisha by NLC India. Its shares had declined by 0.73 per cent to close at Rs 196.30.
5) HCL Tech: The company’s profit rose 6 per cent in Q3 FY24, beating Dalal Street estimates. Its shares rose by 4.65 per cent to close at Rs 1,553 on Friday.
