Top Gainers & Losers: India's five largest IT firms buck the trend as market slips into the red

Top Gainers & Losers: Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty started the week on a subdued note soon after a positive start, losing about 0.3 per cent for the day amid mixed cues. Losses in private sector financial stocks outweighed sharp gains in IT and PSU banking counters. Broader indices Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 mirrored the overall weakness, inching 0.1-0.2 per cent lower. 

“The market is facing selling pressure on the rise, showing uncertainty among participants despite favourable cues. We feel it’s prudent to limit positions in the current scenario and wait for a decisive breakout between 17,800-18,100 on Nifty50,” said Ajit Mishra, VP-Technical Research at Religare Broking.

Here are some of the blue-chip stocks that saw big moves on January 16:  

Tech Mahindra

Tech Mahindra shares emerged the top gainer in the Nifty and Sensex baskets, finishing 3.1 per cent higher at Rs 1,034.6 apiece on BSE. The top five gainers on both benchmark indices were IT heavyweights TCS, Infosys, HCL Tech, Wipro and Tech Mahindra.

Tech Mahindra is scheduled to report its December quarter earnings on January 30. The IT company is expected to report revenue growth of 0.4 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis in constant currency terms, absorbing the impact of furloughs and portfolio pruning of low margin businesses, said Karan Uppal, Research Analyst at Phillip Capital. He believes that margins in the sector may expand moderately.

Phillip has a 'neutral' rating on Tech Mahindra with a target price of Rs 1,050 per share.

HCL Tech

HCL Tech shares gained by Rs 16 or 1.5 per cent at Rs 1,093.9 apiece on BSE. 

Yes Securities Analyst Piyush Pandey is of the view that the long-term demand story remains intact for HCL Tech, led by IT transformation and cost optimisation projects. However, macroeconomic factors in the US and Europe remain a concern, which is reflected in clients turning more watchful, he said.

The brokerage maintains an 'add' call on HCL Tech with a target price of Rs 1,181 apiece, valuing the stock at 18.5 times its estimated earnings for the year ending March 2024. 

Axis Bank

Axis Bank shares finished weaker by Rs 21.2 or 2.3 per cent at Rs 913.1 apiece -- the top Sensex laggard. The private lender is scheduled to release its results on January 23.

“Axis Bank remains focused on building a stronger, consistent and sustainable franchise. Since asset quality issues are now behind, slippages and credit costs should be under control. NIMs have improved significantly and the bank believes that it has sufficient levers in place to offset the rise in deposit costs,” said Motilal Oswal Research Analyst Nitin Aggarwal.

Axis Bank is Motilal Oswal's top pick for 2023 with a target price of Rs 1,130 per share.