The BSE Sensex has risen 43% since Diwali 2020. Surprisingly, equity markets were unmoved even by the second wave of the pandemic in the April-May period and touched an all-time high of 62,245 in October this year. “Equity is being widely and rightly recognised as an asset-generating and inflation-beating asset over a long period. It is also very liquid. The TINA (there is no alternative) factor is at play,” says Pankaj Pandey, Head of Research, ICICI Direct Research. Experts are positive on equities for the next year and advise investors to make it a key asset class for long-term wealth generation by investing in companies with strong earnings growth and visibility, stable cash flows and high RoE and RoCE. Any short-term correction can be used to accumulate stocks, say analysts. Here are the top stock recommendations for Samvat 2078 by top brokerage houses:
HDFC Securities says equity as an asset class will continue to do well. The brokerage house says some steam is left in the PSU pack post Air India sale and some progress on BPCL and SCI divestments. “Banks, both PSUs and private, could come back in the reckoning. Auto and capital goods can also do well after subdued performance over the past few quarters,” says the Diwali Picks report by HDFC Securities.
The brokerage house has advised investors to book partial profits and restore the originally planned asset allocation. After such a rise in markets, one does not know what triggers could take it down and for how long, it says.
The time frame for the above mentioned stocks is till next Diwali.