As the Sensex surged past the 75,000 mark and the broader Nifty 50 index touched the 22,750 mark for the first time ever, analysts are attributing the current leg of the bull run to the momentum and safety in the large-cap space.
"A healthy and desirable trend in the market movement is the outperformance of the large-caps. This trend is likely to continue," said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
Analysts are finding comfort in the large-cap banking stocks in the current market, especially since expectations of the upcoming quarterly results of the banking majors are likely to be very positive.
The stocks with the highest number of 'buy' calls by various domestic and international brokerages are the banking behemoths: ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and IndusInd Bank.
ICICI Bank has the highest number of 'buy' calls, with 49 brokerages recommending investors buy stocks of the counter, while only three experts have a 'hold' call.
Private sector lenders, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank both have 45 buy recommendations, with four and five 'hold' calls.
Over the past year, Axis Bank has outperformed the Bank Nifty index, gaining around 23 percent. Experts are hoping for the lender to see better loan growth, and are bullish on the stock's attractive valuations.
However, shares of HDFC Bank have slipped into the red over the past year, falling more than 8 percent, despite the optimism surrounding the counter.
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Though HDFC Bank's earnings following its reverse merger with its parent HDFC have disappointed, analysts are positive on its structural story remaining positive, as its portfolio mix is slowly shifting to retail lending.
IndusInd Bank boasts of 44 'buy' calls, with one 'sell' and four 'hold' recommendations. Analysts are bullish on the lender's net interest income, with a Jefferies report stating that the lender's NII growth was among the best across coverage.
Brokerages are also very bullish on auto major Maruti Suzuki. The counter has 41 'buy', six 'hold' and three 'sell' calls. In a note on April 9, international brokerage Morgan Stanley said a global slowdown in EVs shows that the powertrain technology strategy which Maruti Suzuki has is the best to navigate the current landscape as hybrids are seen as an attractive bridge in the EV transition globally.
The other counters that see maximum optimism from brokerages are public lender, State Bank of India, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, ITC, and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries.
Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
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