19K to 20K: Nifty stocks that lead gainers as index climbs 1,000 points in 52 sessions

It took just 52 trading sessions for the NSE barometer Nifty to hit the 20,000 psychological mark from 19,000 level in July against 421 days that it took to hit the 19,000 mark from 18,000 level in October 2021. As the index touched new highs, it was stocks such as NTPC Ltd, Coal India Ltd, Cipla Ltd and Tata Steel Ltd that led Nifty gainers during the 52-session period. Stocks such s UPL Ltd, Britannia Industries Ltd and Eicher Motors Ltd, on the other hand, delivered negative returns, as the 50-pack index added 1,000 points over the July level. Net-net, a total of 13 Nifty stocks delivered double digit returns, while a total 26 shares delivered over 5 per cent returns during the same period. 

Gainers were led by NTPC (25 per cent), Coal India (21 per cent) and Cipla (21 per cent), which gained 20-25 per cent. Larsen & Toubro (up 17 per cent), Tata Steel (up 16 per cent), Adani Ports (up 15 per cent), Hindalco Industries (up 15 per cent) and ONGC (up 15 per cent) were among that that rallied 15-17 per cent during the period. IT stocks Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and TCS advanced 7-12 per cent while drug makers Dr Reddy's Labs and Sun Pharma gained 9-11 per cent.

A total of 11 index stocks, on the other hand, delivered flattish to negative returns. UPL with a 12 per cent drop was the only stock, which delivered a double digit fall. Britannia Industries (down 8 per cent), Eicher Motors (down 7 per cent), Hindustan Unilever (down 6 per cent), Nestle India (down 3 per cent) and Asian Paints (down 3 per cent) were among top laggards during the period. 

The index, however, underperformed midcap and smallcap indices both the periods but a good margin. 

Motilal Oswal Securities said while Nifty hit a new high, the NSE benchmark still trades at a 12-month forward P/E of 18.8 times, which is at a 7 per cent discount to its own long-period average (LPA). 

"Notably, Nifty EPS grew 19 per cent over FY20-23 to Rs 807 vs. market returns of 15 per cet over Jan’20-Sept’23. Thus, valuations are far more reasonable today than they were in October 2021 highs," Motilal Oswal said.

"Although the Nifty-50 is at a new high and is creating a lot of buzz, on a two-year basis, it is up 7 per cent from the October 21 high. Its aggregate FY22/FY23 earnings are up 38 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.  

"We reckon the upside from here will be a function of stability in global and local macros and continued earnings delivery vs. expectations. Moreover, we note that during the last five General Elections (1999-2019), the Nifty-50 rallied 10-32 per cent six months prior to the announcement of election results. India will be going into General Elections in Mar-May’24," it said.

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