Indian headline indices opened in the green on gains in bank stocks and tracking positive cues from global markets. The top gainers were ONGC, Adani Enterprises, SBI Life, HDFC Bank, and Sun Pharmaceuticals. The top losers were Cipla, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Bajaj Auto, ITC, and Divi's Laboratories. HDFC Bank stock rose nearly 2% after the banking regulator allowed LIC to up its ownership. Most major Asian indices were trading positive after the China regulators took new steps to support the market.

On the India business front, in particular, Cipla is working to not only enhance its prescription base but also strengthen its trade generics and consumer healthcare businesses.

After witnessing moderate earnings growth in FY23, Cipla is seen ending FY24 on a very strong note given the efforts that the drugmaker has taken to drive both India and US business, which has improved the outlook beyond FY24, says Sneha Poddar of Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

The public issue of Qualitek Labs received good response from investors with the overall subscription at nearly 59 times. The category reserved for retail investors was booked 39 times, followed by other investors at 69.37 times.

Macquarie maintained outperform rating on HDFC Bank with target price of Rs 2075. The bank is consolidating, focusing on NIMs. Deposit growth must exceed loan growth by 400bps over next 3 years for pre-merger NIMs. CLSA raised target price for SBI Life to Rs 1730, it has limited impact of surrender value regulations. SBI's wide presence gives it an advantage. CLSA upgraded Dalmia Bharat to buy with target price of Rs 2700. Q3 Ebitda in line with estimates. Nomura maintained neutral rating on IOC with target price of Rs 105, Q3 results above estimates.

India's blue-chip indices Nifty and Sensex declined on Thursday last week, dragged by IT stocks following disappointing results from Tech Mahindra and as financial stocks continued to retreat. Meanwhile, a host of analysts shared their tech views on several stocks, which may gain up to 25% in the near term. Here is a list of 5 tech picks from various analysts:

SBI Life Insurance shares rise 3% on decent Q3 earnings. Brokerages Jefferies, CLSA, Motilal Oswal, and Nuvama remain optimistic. Jefferies highlights softer premium growth, retail protection segment decline, and weaker margins. CLSA raises price target, emphasizes limited impact of surrender value regulations. Nuvama tweaks VNB lower but maintains 'Buy' rating, cites healthy APE growth and low-cost ratios. Motilal Oswal reiterates 'Buy', expects 18% APE CAGR and improved channel productivity.

Based on provisional data available for 8MFY23 (Apr-Nov’23), our calculations suggest that gross taxes can exceed budget estimates (BEs) for the third consecutive year, by as much as INR1.3t in FY24.

Indian headline indices traded in green. ONGC, Adani Enterprises, SBI Life, HDFC Bank, and Sun Pharmaceuticals are top gainers. Cipla, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Bajaj Auto, ITC, and Divi's Laboratories are top losers. HDFC Bank stock rises after LIC was allowed to increase ownership. Firm global markets support the rally. US Fed rate cuts expected.

Opening Bell: Sensex climbs 400 points, Nifty above 21,450; TechM, Tata Steel rise 2% each.

ET Now spoke to various experts, and here's what they have to recommend for today's trading session. Nooresh Merani has a buy/sell recommendation on ONGC and Lemon Tree Hotels for today's trading session. Check out the targets and stoploss.

"Trading in the shares of... Evergrande Property Services Group Limited has been halted at 10:19 a.m today," the city's stock exchange said. It also halted trading in its electric vehicle subsidiary at the same time.

Oil climbed after a step-up in Middle East violence, as a missile attack by Yemen's Houthi group caused a fire on a fuel tanker in the Red Sea, while three U.S. troops were killed after a drone attack in Jordan.

A string of supportive policies by Beijing including a deep cut to bank reserves helped lift Chinese stocks off five-year lows early last week but then they retreated again on Friday, reflecting deep investor pessimism over the outlook for markets and the shaky economy.

“MGL stock has been trading in a falling channel pattern and has recently confirmed a breakout on the weekly charts. Traders can buy for a target of Rs 1500-1600 in the next 3-4 months,” Gaurav Bissa, VP, InCred Equities, said.

Karnataka Bank has decided to allot Rs 100 crore worth of preferential shares to ICICI Lombard General Insurance as part of its plans to raise Rs 700 crore in fresh equity. The allotment is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval and will be raised through other permitted means. The bank raised Rs 800 crore through a preferential issue of shares in October last year.

Punit Goenka and the family collectively decided he should step aside, and the merger should proceed because it was beneficial for Zee. This decision was communicated to Sony. It wasn't acceptable to Sony. I believe this was Sony's strategy all along: To engage with Zee and eventually withdraw, portraying Zee as vulnerable. I intend to convey this perspective to the Zee board as well, says Subhash Chandra, chairman emeritus of Zee Entertainment Enterprises.

While the HDFC Bank stock may be trading at decadal low valuations of about 2.1 times to book value, investors including LIC may be cautious in jumping to buy it, they said.

Between April and November 2023, the daily average value of market repos was ₹1.46 lakh crore, the highest on record, and 15% higher than the average for 2022-23, according to the latest data published by the Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL).

YES Bank on Saturday reported robust growth in profit for the December quarter, with the bottomline surging more than four times year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 231 crore.

The rights issue period is scheduled to open on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, with a closing date on Tuesday, February 13, 2024.

“This transaction is aligned with our focus on monetizing non-core assets. The proceeds from the transaction will further strengthen our balance sheet,” Piramal Enterprises informed exchanges in a January 27 filing. The transaction, which will be conducted through a share purchase agreement, is subject to the receipt of requisite regulatory approvals by Shriram Ownership Trust, Piramal Enterprises said.

Pune-based real estate developer Ashdan Properties emerges as the highest bidder to take over the ₹14,000 crore debt of Rolta India with a bid valued at close to ₹760 crore on a net present value (NPV) basis. The bid beats eight other bidders including data centre company Cyfuture India and Jai Corp vice chairman Virendra Jain.

AIFs in India are rejecting 'early exit' requests from banks and finance companies due to new rules. They are now considering how to handle these investors as they default on 'capital calls' from funds. AIFs may impose penalties on banks and NBFCs falling short of their original commitments. They may also cap investments, make exceptions for affected investors, and preserve relationships. The RBI's recent regulations conflict with the AIF regulatory regime, creating a need for urgent resolution. Investors and AIFs are exploring ways to avoid the regulatory restrictions.

An app named Choicese (CHC-SES), launched at the end of November 2023, disappeared within two months, leaving several crores lost for hundreds of investors.

However, if the index surpasses and maintains levels above 21,500, analysts anticipate index to move to 21,600-21,700 range. SBI, NMDC, SAIL, RIL, Infosys, GAIL, Siemens, Tata Power, Coforge, MGL, Star Cement, and LIC Housing have formed bullish patterns on charts

Short-term traders can look to buy the stock on dips for a possible target of Rs 1,500-1,600 levels in the next 3-4 months, suggest experts. MGL rose from Rs 1,018 on October 23, 2023, to Rs 1,345 as of January 24, 2024, an upside of over 32% in the last three months. The stock rose more than 8% in a week and over 14% in a month. It hit a fresh record high of Rs 1,386 on January 25, 2024.

Going by revised guidance, the fourth quarter profit would be upwards of Rs 2,000 crore as well. In the third quarter ended December 2023, the bank earned a profit of Rs 2,223 crore, registering an over 253 per cent jump over the same quarter a year ago.

Indian shares declined on Thursday, dragged by IT stocks following disappointing results from Tech Mahindra and as financial stocks continued to retreat. The S&P BSE Sensex closed 0.51% lower at 70,700, while the NSE Nifty 50 index closed below the 21,400 level."The short-term trend of Nifty remains choppy with weak bias. The market could encounter strong resistance around 21,500-21,600 levels in the coming sessions. Any weakness from here could find support around 21,100-21,000 levels in the near term," said Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.Here are 4 stock recommendations for Monday:

NBCC is continuously moving in an uptrend. It has given a breakout from an important resistance with a big bullish green candle. If the stock manages to close above Rs 119 then our Target 1 will be Rs 134.60, and Target 2 will be Rs 154. The stock is experiencing a good buying volume from that trendline breakout even though it has even crossed 50-MA in the volumes chart.

Trading and investing are very different both in terms of skill sets, requirement of capital and finally the returns which one is able to generate from each of them. That is probably the reason that even the most exceptional wealth creators in the world have accepted this fact and stayed with what they are good at, either investing or trading. But the majority of us have this desire to do both trading and investing at the same time. This mixing of both may lead to a situation where either there would be no returns, or sub optima returns. While in the stock market there is nothing called guaranteed but there is a set of stocks which have higher probability to help all those who want to be trader and investor at both the time.

Going into this week’s two-day policy meeting, which wraps Wednesday afternoon in Washington, investors are assigning roughly even odds to the prospect that the US central bank will start lowering borrowing costs at its next decision in March.​ That makes Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference, and any signal he may or may not choose to send, of critical importance.

"The rising bond yields in the US is a matter of concern, and this has triggered the recent bout of selling in the cash market," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services. Sector-wise, FPIs were sellers in auto & auto ancillary, media & entertainment and marginally in IT, while they bought in oil and gas, power and selectively in financial services, Vijayakumar said.

At a time when it is not possible to find stocks that can be called “fairly valued” and forget “undervalued”, but the sentiment continues to be bullish, it is tough for retail investors to control their desire to buy stocks. The fact is that this market has been in an overvalued zone for quite some time, but as they say, liquidity and sentiment can ensure that market remains in that zone for longer than anyone expects. So, for investors, it would be wise to take exposure to stocks, where a sector the overall market size is very big or the sector has reached an inflection point where the market size will grow or they have an income stream that has an element of annuity. The reason why this strategy works is that even if the valuations are expensive at the time of buying stocks, steady growth in the industry helps in normalizing the valuations of individual stocks.

A small and medium enterprises (SME) IPO is a fundraising procedure that allows a small or medium-sized business to go public like other, larger firms and also gives smaller businesses a platform to be listed on indices. Here's a list of 5 SME IPOs to watch out for this week, according to PRIME Database data:

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have dumped Indian equities worth Rs 24,700 crore so far this month, owing to surging bond yield in the US. On the other hand, they are bullish on the debt market and infused Rs 17,120 crore in the debt market during the period under review, data with the depositories showed.

Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) is an automated investment plan that helps you invest a fixed amount into your chosen mutual funds at regular intervals. But to make sure you get the SIPs right, follow this simple rule. (Source: FundsIndia)

​The combined market valuation of seven of the top-10 most-valued firms eroded by Rs 1.16 lakh crore last week, with HDFC Bank emerging as the biggest laggard. In the holiday-shortened week, the BSE benchmark fell by 982.56 points or 1.37 per cent.

Writing the tax code for any industry is no easy task. The challenges only get compounded if the industry in concern is in its nascency—rapidly evolving and still some years away from its full potential.

A long buildup is when there is a rise in open interest and volumes along with an increase in the price of the underlying stock in the Futures and Options segment. The long buildup is the occurrence of a long (buying) trend in the share market. In Friday's trading session, five stocks witnessed a build of fresh long positions. Here's the list:

A short buildup is when there is a rise in open interest and volumes along with a decrease in the price of the underlying stock in the Futures and Options segment. Short buildup means more people are expecting the prices to go down and creating short positions. In Friday’s trading session, five stocks witnessed a build of fresh short positions. Here's the list:

​Forget the long list of companies that pushed the S&P 500 to a new high this month. All investors needed to mint bumper returns were the "Magnificent Seven."

US Fed meeting, corporate earnings, Budget, and several IPOs are likely to impact Dalal Street investors this week. “Going forward, global market factors like the policy rate decisions of major countries will affect the market, and markets are likely to witness stock-specific actions during the ongoing earnings season,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Veliyath raised his stake in Kerala Ayurved by 164 bps to 4.82% in the quarter ended December 30, 2023. At the end of the September quarter, he held 3.18% stake in the company. The value of his holding is nearly Rs 14.8 crore, Trendlyne data said.

The year of the bulls, 2023 was marked by stabilized interest rates and heavy government PLI schemes, among other macroeconomic factors. More importantly, the disproportionate amount of net inflows pumped into these stocks by the domestic mutual funds industry is astounding.

The year of the bulls, 2023 was marked by stabilized interest rates and heavy government PLI schemes, among other macroeconomic factors. More importantly, the disproportionate amount of net inflows pumped into these stocks by the domestic mutual funds industry is astounding.

A recent RBI research delves into the empirics of retail credit growth and concludes that the quality of retail loan portfolio is healthy across banks, product categories, and borrower risk classes, even as growth continues to surge.

Besides the US Fed, ECB is increasingly confronted with calls for rate cuts given that deteriorating economic momentum shows the eurozone economy has more problems digesting higher rates than the US. The downward surprise in November inflation brought forward the market pricing of the first ECB rate cut to March 2024, with a total of 125 basis points of cuts priced in for 2024.

In 1999-2000, the market cap of Asian Paints was ~$200m, just 2% of the largest consumer company then, Hindustan Unilever. Today Asian Paints’s market cap is $35bn, more than 50% of Unilever’s! Titan was a tiny cap during 2001-4 (the lowest was in 2001, a market cap of $25m, vs $40bn now!) when it entered the jewellery segment and changed the industry.

This week there was a sharp correction in the mid-cap index, and market breadth was also weak. This should serve as a warning to all those who are buying stocks without bothering to look at what is the business of the company. The way correction panned out, there is higher probability of a correction in mid-cap space continuing if there is more trouble with Nifty. But rather than bothering about what will happen to nifty in the next few weeks or quarters, long term investors looking to take exposure to the mid-cap should focus on individual companies and their underlying business. At the same time, because overall valuations are high, be ready for underperformance for some time and focus on the long term.