Market correction offers opportunity: Top 10 stocks to watch in 2025

These stocks, handpicked by top brokerages, offer a blend of value and growth

As 2024 draws to a close, Indian equity investors are navigating a volatile market. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex has dropped nearly 9 per cent from its 52-week high in September, paring year-to-date returns to 8.6 per cent from a peak rally of 18.7 per cent. This downturn has sparked anxiety among investors. However, brokerages view the correction as an opportunity, observing that reduced valuations could offer attractive entry points.

 

Here are 10 stocks identified by leading brokerages as strong picks for 2025. These stocks, which have fallen 13–37 per cent from their 52-week highs, are projected to recover and deliver robust returns.

 

Analysts from firms such as JM Financial, HDFC Securities, and Morgan Stanley estimate a 17–34 per cent upside in the next 12 months. The expected gains are driven by a combination of earnings growth revival in 2025-26, following a slowdown in the first half of 2024-25, and valuation improvements.

 

The selection spans key sectors including automotive, auto components, banking, retail lending, fast-moving consumer goods, gas utilities, and e-commerce. While brokerages have recommended more than two dozen stocks for 2025, this list narrows the focus to 10 based on criteria such as current valuation, profitability ratios, and upside potential.

 

These 10 stocks represent the best mix of value and growth, offering relatively low price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, a high return on equity, and sufficiently high potential from current levels.   

Axis Bank 

 

* The private sector lender, Axis Bank is expected to deliver high double digit returns of 26 per cent to its investors in 2025 driven by faster earnings growth and relatively low valuations

 

* The stock is down 19.4 per cent from its 52-week high due to a general weakness in the broader market and investors’ concerns about its earnings and margins

 

* The bank's total income was up 17.3 per cent Y-o-Y and its net profit was up 18 per cent Y-o-Y during Q2FY25

 

* On the downside, its provisions for bad loans were up 170.6 per cent Y-o-Y to a 3-year high in Q2FY25

 

* Brokerages however see a limited downside given its relatively low valuation with price to book value ratio of 2x

   

Bajaj Finance 

 

* Brokerages now expect a turnaround in Bajaj Finance’s fortunes in CY25 after a poor show in 2024 on the bourses

 

* After the 5 per cent decline in Bajaj Finance’s stock price in the last 12-months, the retail lender is expected to rally 17 per cent from its current level in 2025

 

* The non-banking finance company’s poor show on the bourses is attributed to margin headwinds in its lending business

 

* The company’s net profit was up 12.6 per cent Y-o-Y in Q2FY25 despite 28 per cent Y-o-Y growth in revenues as expenses grew even faster

 

* Its interest expenses were up 35.5 per cent Y-o-Y while provisions for bad loans were up 77.2 per cent Y-o-Y in Q2FY25

 

* Brokerages now expect a turnaround in its earnings trajectory as interest rates decline going forward and delinquencies in retail lending moderates

   

Hindustan Aeronautics 

 

* The government-owned fighter jet manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) is another top pick of brokerages for 2025

 

* Brokerages see a 22 per cent upside in the HAL stock price from its current level driven by rising order book and faster growth in its revenues and profits

 

* There has been a sell-off in the stock in recent weeks. HAL stock is down 25 per cent from its 52-week high made in September this year

 

* The sell-off was partly triggered by lower-than-expected growth reported by the company in Q2FY25

 

* HAL’s net sales were up 6 per cent Y-o-Y in Q2FY25, slowing down from 12.8 per cent Y-o-Y growth in FY24

 

* The company’s net profit was up 22.1 per cent Y-o-Y in the second quarter, though the growth was down from 30.8 per cent Y-o-Y growth in FY24

   

Hindustan Unilever 

 

* After a poor show in 2024, brokerages expect a turnaround in Hindustan Unilever’s (HUL’s) fortunes on the bourses

 

* The stock has been an underperformer in the last 12-months, and is down 23 per cent from its 52-week high

 

* The company's revenues and net profit have grown in low single digits in the last six quarters, which has weighed on investor sentiment

 

* The country's top personal care and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) maker, however, is expected to report faster revenue and earnings growth going ahead on the back of a revival in consumer demand

 

* HUL stock price is also expected to get some lift from its currently low valuation

 

* The stock is currently trading at a trailing P/E of 53x, down from its 5-year average earnings multiple of around 60x

   

Indiamart Intermesh 

 

* The wholesale e-commerce and business-to-business (B2B) marketplace major, Indiamart Intermesh is likely to deliver double digit returns to investors in 2025 despite the recent volatility in its share price

 

* Brokerages see a 34 per cent upside in the stock from the current levels driven by higher growth in digitisation among small and medium enterprises (SMEs), a strong network effect and higher operating leverage

 

* The company’s net sales were up 18 per cent Y-o-Y in Q2FY25 and net profit was up 94.7 per cent Y-o-Y thanks to higher margins

 

* According to Motilal Oswal Securities, growth in collections was soft at 6 per cent Y-o-Y and it continued to witness a higher-than-anticipated churn in the silver bucket, which is a key concern

 

* The same has raised growth concerns and the stock is down about 30 per cent from its 52 week high

 

* A lower valuation post the recent sell-off and the company’s entry into newer segments such as merchant digitisation and automation has created a buying opportunity for investors

   

KPIT Technologies 

 

* Mid-cap IT major KPIT Technologies is on the radar of brokerages, which expect it to deliver 21 per cent returns to investors over the next 12 months

 

* The gains are likely to be driven by faster revenue and earnings growth in the coming quarters

 

* KPIT Cummins provides engineering, research & design (ERD) services to global automotive makers and brokerages expect a faster growth in this segment compared to other IT Services

 

* The company's net sales were up 22.7 per cent Y-o-Y in Q2FY25, slowing down from 44.8 per cent Y-o-Y growth in FY24

 

* The slowdown has triggered a sell-off and the stock is down 25.7 per cent from its 52-week high

 

* JM Financial, however, sees the pull-back as a buying opportunity for investors as it expects growth slowdown to be transient

   

Mahanagar Gas 

 

* The gas utility Mahanagar Gas (MGL), which supplies piped gas to residential, commercial and industrial users in the Mumbai region and its vicinity, is among the top picks of brokerages for 2025

 

* The MGL stock is expected to deliver around 20 per cent upside from its current levels due to a mix of factors such as its low valuation and healthy earnings growth in FY25

 

* The company's net profit was down 16.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in Q2FY25 due to higher operating expenses, despite a 8.6 per cent Y-o-Y growth in net sales

 

* Poor earnings growth in Q2FY25 triggered a sell-off in the stock, which is down 38 per cent from its 52-week high

 

* Brokerages expect a rally in the stock after the sharp decline in its valuation post the recent sell-off

 

* MGL is currently trading at a trailing P/E of 9.5x and price-to-book value (P/BV) ratio of 2.2x, which is less than half that of BSE Sensex

   

Maruti Suzuki 

 

* The country's top passenger vehicle maker Maruti Suzuki is also a top pick of brokerages and they see nearly 22 per cent upside in the stock in CY25 from current levels

 

* After a strong rally in 2023 and in 2024, Maruti stock has witnessed a sell-off in recent weeks over investors' worry about its future earnings trajectory

 

* The stock is down over 20 per cent from its 52-week high and seems to be consolidating at current levels where valuation based on one-year forward EPS is lowest since mid-2020

 

* Maruti's net sales were flat on Y-o-Y basis in Q2FY25 while net profit was down 18.1 per cent Y-o-Y in the period. For comparison, in FY24 the company's net sales were up 20 per cent Y-o-Y and net profit was up 63.2 per cent Y-o-Y

 

* Maruti’s tech-agnostic approach (Hybrids, CNG, EVs, Flex-fuel, etc.) and new launches auger well

 

* Brokerages now expect Maruti to report faster revenue and earnings growth going ahead on a revival in vehicle demand

   

Samvardhana Motherson International 

 

* The country's top auto components maker Samvardhana Motherson International is expected to deliver double digit returns to equity investors in 2025, even as it will follow a strong 2024

 

* Despite the recent market sell-off which saw the stock coming off 27.6 per cent from its 52-week high, it is still up 63.6 per cent in the last 12-months outperforming the BSE Sensex by a wide margin

 

* Brokerages believe that higher demand for its components and systems from fast growing electric vehicle makers in Europe and North America will help sustain growth, and in turn the stock’s performance

 

* The company's net sales were up 18.8 per cent Y-o-Y in Q2FY25 while its net profit was up 222.6 per cent Y-o-Y in the period.

 

* Brokerages expect the momentum to continue and see 22.2 per cent upside in the stock in CY25 from its current level

   

State Bank of India 

 

* India’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI) is also on brokerages’ radar thanks to its faster revenue and earnings growth in recent quarters coupled with low valuation

 

* In the last 12 months, SBI stock has been an outperformer (up 25 per cent) compared to a 10 per cent rally in the BSE Sensex. Even in the recent market sell-off, it is down just 10 per cent from its 52-week high thanks to SBI’s better financial performance

 

* SBI’s net profit was up 27.9 per cent Y-o-Y in Q2FY25 driven by 15.1 per cent Y-o-Y growth in its total income and 21.8 per cent Y-o-Y decline in its salary & wage expenses in the quarter

 

* With macros turning favourable coupled with SBI’s strong position, brokerages expect the growth momentum to continue and see an 18 per cent upside in the stock