Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, ITC: Stocks to buy and sell in FY18

It has been a good financial year for stock market investors with the Nifty50 index surging around 17%. The rally in select individual stocks in the Nifty50 index, however, has been sharper. Hindalco, for instance, surged 116% during the year. Indian Oil (IOC), YES Bank, Maruti Suzuki, State Bank of India (SBI) and Tata Steel rallied 49% - 91%.

On the other hand, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Wipro and TCS were among the laggards that lost 3% - 16% during the year.

Outcome of assembly polls in March, especially in the key state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) – seen as a semi-final to the general elections scheduled for 2019 – reinforced hope of wider reforms. Earlier in the year, a good monsoon and the passage of the goods and services tax (GST) bill provided triggers for an upside.

On the other hand, they remained resilient to events that were perceived to be negative for the financial markets – such as demonetisation, Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the US Presidential election and rate hike by the US Federal Reserve.

Here are a few stocks compiled from recent research reports that leading research houses and brokerages recommend at the current levels.

Citigroup

Banks and pharma remain key overweights. Remain underweight on IT Services and Consumer staples. 

Top picks include Axis Bank, Aurobindo Pharma, Bharat Electronics, Cipla, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Power Grid, State Bank of India (SBI), Tata Motors, Apollo Hospitals, Container Corporation, Crompton Consumer, Dish TV, Emami, Glenmark Pharma, GSPL, Indraprastha Gas and PI Industries

UBS

Least preferred stocks: Ashok Leyland, Titan and United Spirits; 

Sell rating: Hero MotoCorp, TTK Prestige, ACC, Havells and Jubilant FoodWorks; 

Buy rating: ITC, HUL, Britannia, PVR, Voltas, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank.

Motilal Oswal Research

Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, ITC, SBI, RBL Limited, Britannia, Colgate, Crompton Consumer, UltraTech, L&T, Hindalco, JSPL, Bharti Airtel, IOC and JK Cements

Emkay Global

Buy Ideas: Aurobindo Pharma, Bajaj Finance, Coromandel International, Delta Corp, Dhanuka Agritech, Emami, Future Lifestyle Fashion, Godrej Consumer Products, Hero MotoCorp, Hindalco, ICICI Bank, Insecticides India, IOC, MOIL, Orient Refractories, Somany Ceramics, Sterling Tools and Sun TV.

Sell Ideas: ACC, Havells India, Mahindra Finance, Pidilite Industries and TVS Motors