Apollo Hospital closes as top gainer for 2nd day, Cipla ends around 1% lower; Analyst expects Nifty all-time high in next day or two

Nifty, Sensex, Top Gainers, Top Losers, Apollo Hospital, Infosys, Cipla: The Indian equity market rallied sharply on the expiry day of the November series. Nifty Bank and Sensex witnessed a fresh all-time high, while Nifty ended with a record closing high on Thursday.

The drop in the dollar index and US bond yields following some dovish comments in US Fed minutes boosted sentiment across global markets, Santosh Meena, Head of Research, Swastika Investmart said, adding that the sharp drop in crude oil prices, on the other hand, is serving as a cherry on top.

Banking stocks were doing well, but today the baton was taken by IT stocks, the analyst noted. “The rally in the final hour can be attributed to a quick covering move as call writers were trapped. There is a good chance that the Nifty will reach an all-time high tomorrow or within the next few days.”

Infosys: Buy – Target: 1,735; Upside: 6.5%

Shares of Infosys closed as top Sensex gainer along with other IT heavyweights such as HCL Tech, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and TCS. Infosys stock gained nearly 3 per cent to Rs 1630 apiece on the BSE.

Image Source: Stockedge

Mitul Shah Research Analyst at Reliance Securities expects Infosys to continue to gain market share in technology adoption. In view of strong deal wins, strong revenue guidance, healthy margin territory, and attractive valuation.

The analyst maintains a BUY recommendation on the stock with a target price of Rs 1,735, valuing the stock at an unrevised P/E multiple of 24x FY24E earnings.

Apollo Hospital Enterprise: Outperform – Target Price: Rs 5100; Upside: 6%

Shares of Apollo Hospital Enterprise for the second straight session closed as top Nifty gainer today, up over 4.5 per cent to Rs 4815 apiece on the NSE as compared to an over 1 per cent rise in the benchmark index.

Image Source: Stockedge

Street sentiment turned positive on the stock with the company cementing its position in digital health services and strong momentum in app downloads. Brokerage firm Credit Suisse in its report said that it is bullish on the counter and gave 'outperform' rating with target of Rs 5100 apiece.

Cipla: Neutral – Target: Rs 1230; Upside: 12%

Shares of pharma major Cipla closed as top Nifty losers, down nearly 1 per cent to Rs 1,097.10 per share on the NSE.  

Image Source: Stockedge

Surya Patra, Research Analyst at Philip Capital said, “Factoring Q2 miss, moderating opportunity of gAdvair/gAbraxane and improved currency realisation, we cut FY23/FY24 earnings by 2 per cent.”

Accordingly, the analyst said that CIPLA is valued at 21x FY24EPS, thereby downgrading rating on Cipla to NEUTRAL from BUY with a target price of Rs 1230, implying a limited upside of 12 per cent.

Nifty50 Top Gainers: 

1) Apollo Hospital shares ended at Rs 4,815.00, up over 4.5 per cent on the NSE from Wednesday's closing price. 

2) HDFC Life shares ended at Rs 572.00, up around 4.5 per cent on the NSE from Wednesday's closing price. 

3) BPCL shares ended at Rs 320.45, up over 3 per cent on the NSE from Wednesday's closing price. 

4) Infosys shares ended at Rs 1,635.00, up over 3 per cent on the NSE from Wednesday's closing price.

5) Tata Consumer shares ended at Rs 793.20, up around 3 per cent on the NSE from Wednesday's closing price 

Nifty50 Top Losers: 

1) Cipla shares ended at Rs 1,097.10, down around 1 per cent on the NSE from Wednesday's closing price. 

2) Coal India shares ended at Rs 229.00 down around 1 per cent on the NSE from Wednesday's closing price. 

3) Bajaj Finserv shares ended at Rs 1,632.10, down 0.25 per cent on the NSE from Wednesday's closing price. 

4) Kotak Bank shares ended at Rs 1,949.60, down around 0.2 per cent on the NSE from Wednesday's closing price. 

5) Tata Motors shares ended at Rs 423.90, down over 0.04 per cent on the NSE from Wednesday's closing price. 

Sensex Top Gainers: 

1) Infosys shares ended at Rs 1629.80, up around 3 per cent on the BSE from Wednesday's closing price. 

2) HCL Tech shares ended at Rs 1130.90, up over 2.5 per cent on the BSE from Wednesday's closing price. 

3) Power Grid shares ended at Rs 220.65, up over 2.5 per cent on the BSE from Wednesday's closing price.

4) Wipro shares ended at Rs 398.05, up around 2.5 per cent on the BSE from Wednesday's closing price.

5) Tech Mahindra shares ended at Rs 1069.15, up over 2 per cent on the BSE from Wednesday's closing price 

Sensex Top Losers: 

1) Kotak Bank shares ended at Rs 1946.85, down 0.34 per cent on the BSE from Wednesday's closing price. 

2) Tata Steel shares ended at Rs 105.45, down 0.14 per cent on the BSE from Wednesday's closing price. 

3) Bajaj Finance shares ended at Rs 1634.15, down 0.1 per cent on the BSE from Wednesday's closing price.

4) Bajaj Finserv shares ended at Rs 6772.55, down 0.1 per cent on the BSE from Wednesday's closing price.