Share Market HIGHLIGHTS: Sensex ends 242 pts higher, Nifty almost makes it to 21,350 led by IT, auto stocks

Thank you! That's all today on Zeebiz.com's blog on the December 22 session on Dalal Street

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Closing Bell | Sensex up 242 points, Nifty one point shy of 21,350

The Sensex rises 241.9 points, or 0.3 per cent, to end at 71,107 and the Nifty50 settles at 21,349.4, up 94.4, or 0.4 per cent, from its previous close. 

Nifty Today LIVE | Infy, L&T, TCS, HCL Tech among top movers in 50-scrip basket

Infosys, L&T, TCS, HCL Tech and Wipro are the top movers in the Nifty baskets at this hour. On the contrary, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and Bajaj Finance are among the top drags.

Here's a look at the heatmap in the 50-scrip universe by weight:

Source: NSE

Share Market Tips LIVE | Buy Rossell India, BLS International shares, says Vikas Sethi 

Vikas Sethi of Sethi Finmart recommends buying Rossell India shares for a target of Rs 500 with a stop loss at Rs 450. Besides, recommends buying BLS International shares for a target of Rs 330 with a stop loss at Rs 298.

Share Market Today LIVE | This diversified industry large-cap play remains on analysts' 'buy' list despite jumping 40% in 12 months

Of late, several analysts and market experts have turned cautious and even bearish on small- and mid-cap stocks, given their frothy valuations, and have been suggesting investors park money in large-cap stocks.

ICICI Direct, in its report issued in late November, said that with a significant move in midcap in CY23, it expects large caps to start catching up as they provide favourable risk-reward as Nifty is emerging from a two-year consolidation phase.

Echoing similar views, analysts at Kotak Institutional Equities, in their report dated December 4, 2023, wrote they continue to favour the mega-caps and a few large-caps and quality mid-caps. They further said that FPIs are likely to prefer investment in large-caps and are unlikely to look at mid-caps and small-caps for both liquidity and valuation reasons. Read more 

Share Market Today LIVE | This small-cap diagnostic stock may see a correction on expensive valuation

Despite the current buzz in the diagnostic space, amid the resurgence of COVID cases in some parts of the country, ICICI Securities has retained a 'reduce' rating on Vijaya Diagnostic Centre. Nevertheless, the target price has been moved higher from the earlier Rs 530 to Rs 590, marking a potential downside of around 9 per cent from the previous close of Rs 647.1.

PH Diagnostic acquisition- A step in the right direction 

On Thursday (December 21), the diagnostic player in an exchange filing informed that it had completed the acquisition of Pune-based P H Diagnostic Centre for a cash consideration of Rs 147.5 crore. The brokerage sees the acquisition as a step in the right direction, as the acquisition would enable Vijaya Diagnostic to expand its geographical reach outside the Andhra/Telangana region and, at the same time, boost the combined portfolio. Read more 

Traders' Diary | Buy, sell or hold strategy on DLF, Tata Chemicals, Sona BLW, RailTel, Ami Organics, over a dozen other stocks today

In this edition of Traders' Diary, Zee Business shares exclusive research on more than a dozen stocks that investors and traders can track on Friday, December 22. Here's a list of 20 stocks that are on analysts Varun Dubey and Kushal Gupta's radar.

Here's the complete list of investment and trading ideas for the day:

Varun Dubey

• Buy WPIL shares in the cash segment for a price target of Rs 3,500 with a stop loss at Rs 3,380
• Buy Dr Lal Pathlabs futures for a target of Rs 2,680 with a stop loss at Rs 2,575
• Buy the Rs 74 call option of GMR Airports Infrastructure for a target of Rs 2.5 with a stop loss at Rs 1.5
• Technical pick: Buy Mishra Dhatu shares for a target of Rs 410 with a stop loss at Rs 387
• Fundamental pick: Buy Lupin shares for a target of Rs 1,290 with a stop loss at Rs 1,240
• Investment idea: Buy LIC shares for a one-year target of Rs 950 
• News-based pick: Buy MOIL shares for a target of Rs 312 with a stop loss at Rs 295

My Choice picks: 

• Buy AMI Organics shares for a target of Rs 1,190 with a stop loss at Rs 1,120
• Buy NALCO shares for a target of Rs 115 with a stop loss at Rs 108
• Buy RailTel shares for a target of Rs 300 with a stop loss at Rs 285. Read more 

Share Market Today LIVE | Nifty Bank trades flat

Source: NSE

'Christmas Gift' Stock Picks | Coforge, Tejas Networks, Aurobindo Pharma among analysts' top recommendations 

In conversation with Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi, market experts Sumeet Bagadia, Kunal Saraogi, Sacchitanand Uttekar and Rakesh Bansal share their top stock recommendations in this special segment, Christmas Gift, as Dalal Street prepares for a long weekend with the Christmas holiday on December 25.

On the analysts' 'buy' list are stocks such as Aurobindo Pharma and Tejas Networks. Read more

Share Market Today LIVE | Castrol India, AstraZeneca, NLC, JB Chem & Pharma, Piramal Pharma rise most among 410-odd gainers in BSE 500 universe

On the other hand, Varun Beverages, IIFL Finance, Polycab India, Gujarat Ambuja Exports and Medplus Health Services are the worst hit in the broadest basket on the bourse. 

Image: BSEIndia.com

Share Market Today LIVE | Buy Swaraj Engines shares in Rs 2,260-2,300 band, add on dips to Rs 2,020-2,060, says HDFC Securities

HDFC Securities recommends buying the auto ancillary stock in the Rs 2,260-2,300 band and add on dips to Rs 2,020-2,060-odd levels with a perspective of 2-3 quarters, for a base case fair value of Rs 2,493 (19.25x FY25E EPS) and a bull case fair value of Rs 2,688 (20.75x FY25E EPS). 

The brokerage expects Swaraj Engines' revenue, EBITDA and PAT to grow at CAGRs of 8.0 per cent, 8.0 per cent and 9.0 per cent respectively over FY23-FY25, on the back of higher volumes driven by increasing farm mechanization in the country. "We think the stock can be rerated more by valuations than earnings for the near term," according to HDFC Securities. 

Share Market Today LIVE | Ami Organics rises nearly 4% after pharma firm pens deal for manufacturing electrolytes; also strikes block deal

Ami Organics Limited shares jump nearly 4 per cent on BSE on Friday after the pharma company signed a non-binding MOU with a global manufacturer of electrolytes. The company also had a block deal on Thursday, selling nearly four per cent of its stake to Morgan Stanley Singapore Pte and Bofa Securities Europe SA. The stock of Ami Organics trades higher by 3.88 per cent, or Rs 44.4, at Rs 1,189 on Friday. Read more

Share Market Today LIVE | WPIL shares surge after pump company wins Rs 425 crore order from West Bengal government

Kolkata-headquartered pump maker WPIL's shares surge on Friday after the company won an order worth Rs 425.4 crore from the Public Health Engineering Department under the West Bengal government. The stock of WPIL—which designs, develops, manufactures, erects, commissions and services pumps and pumping systems—locks in the 5 per cent upper circuit at Rs 3,584.5 apiece on BSE, coming within Rs 240 of a record high scaled in August. Read more

Share Market Today LIVE | As OMCs slash commercial cylinder prices, QSR companies gain; oil and gas firms trade mixed bag

Oil Marketing Companies have given relief to consumers using commercial gas as they cut the price of the 19 kg commercial cylinder by approximately 39.5 per cylinder with effect from today. While the price cut is likely to be a burden on OMCs, Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) companies are likely to get benefit form it. As commercial cylinder prices are cut, here's the performance of prominent OMC as well as QSR company shares.   

HPCL

The stock of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation is trading down by 0.91 per cent, or Rs 3.40, at Rs 372.15 on BSE

IOCL

The Indian Oil Coportation stock trades higher by 0.2 per cent, or Rs 0.25, at Rs 124.4 on BSE. Read more 

AMFI semi-annual stock categorisation: IRCTC, UPL among 6 large-cap stocks that could be downgraded to midcap category

In the Association of Mutual Funds in India's (AMFI) upcoming semi-annual list of stocks (classified by size) that will consider data from July'23 to December'23, eight of the mid-cap stocks, primarily from the financial services and PSU Banking space, may see an upgrade to the large-cap status.

The stocks include the likes of Power Finance Corporation (PFC), Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC), Macrotech Developers, Polycab, REC, Union Bank, Shriram Finance, and Indian Overseas Bank (IOB). Read more