Top Gainers & Losers: Good Day maker Britannia shares tumble by 2%; these two heavyweight stocks gain most

Top Gainers & Losers: The Indian markets started the March month on a positive note and gained nearly a percent, taking a breather after the recent fall. The NSE Nifty50 and BSE Sensex traded in a narrow range for most of the session but buying in select heavyweights kept the tone positive.

The BSE Sensex advanced 448.96 points or 0.76 per cent to settle at 59,411.08 after a positive beginning and the NSE Nifty climbed 146.95 points or 0.85 per cent to end at 17,450.90.

On the sectoral front, recovery in the IT and metal pack combined with continued resilience in banking played a crucial role. Besides, recovery on the broader front further added to the buoyancy.

“We expect the rebound to extend further but the existence of a hurdle around 17,600 in Nifty might cap the upside,” Ajit Mishra, VP - Technical Research, Religare Broking said in his comment.

He reiterates investors to focus on identifying trading opportunities based on sectoral trends while keeping a check on leveraged trades. In absence of any major domestic event, global cues would continue to induce volatility in between, the analyst said in his post market note.

State Bank of India

State Bank of India (SBI) stock was a top Sensex gainer on Wednesday. The stock settled at Rs 536.20 per share, up 2.5 per cent from Tuesday’s closing.

While explaining the reason for the surge in the banking sector today, Santosh Meena, Head of Research, Swastika Investmart said, “Nifty Bank is showing signs of bottoming out, as we can observe a double bottom formation with a bullish engulfing candlestick formation near its 200-DMA.”

Sustainability in credit growth and net interest margin of SBI to drive core earnings, going forward, Manish Agarwalla, Research Analyst at Phillip Capital said. The brokerage maintained a ‘buy’ rating on the stock with a target of Rs 730 per share, implying a 36 per cent upside from today’s closing.

Hindalco Industries

Aditya Birla group-backed Hindalco Industries shares were among the top gainers on Nifty50. The stock ended at Rs 413.9 per share on Wednesday, up 3.68 per cent from Tuesday’s closing.

Hindalco’s management expects robust demand in India, with an increase in prices, robust thrust from the manufacturing sector, Alok Deora, an analyst at Motilal Oswal said. The brokerage retains a ‘buy’ rating on the stock with a target of Rs 570 apiece, implying a 38 per cent upside in shares.

Britannia Industries

In otherwise positive markets, Britannia Industries' share price concluded as a top laggard on Nifty50. The stock dipped around 2 per cent to Rs 4,380 per share on the NSE.

“We continue to like management narrative of driving top and bottom-line growth by strengthening power brands via innovation and premiumisation, while enhancing direct reach increasing the share of in-housing manufacturing,” Binay Shukla, an analyst at Phillip Capital said.

The brokerage has a ‘buy’ rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 5,400 per share, implying a 23 per cent upside in the stock.