Nifty mover | ICICI Bank eyes top heavyweight spot as HDFC Bank, RIL slide

With the most heavyweight Nifty stock HDFC Bank Ltd delivering the worst returns in the index in 2026, ICICI Bank Ltd could emerge as the Nifty’s biggest mover in the near future.

The Nifty factsheet for August showed HDFC Bank retaining the top spot with a 9.85 per cent index weight, followed by ICICI Bank at 9.45 per cent. Reliance Industries Ltd ranked third with a 7.85 per cent weight, followed by Bharti Airtel Ltd at 5 per cent, and Larsen & Toubro Ltd and State Bank of India at 3.98 per cent each.

In the first two sessions of September, ICICI Bank shares have fallen 1.79 per cent, compared with a 0.80 per cent decline in HDFC Bank. Despite the recent fall, ICICI Bank is among just seven Nifty stocks to have delivered positive returns in 2026 so far, according to data compiled with Bloomberg. The stock has risen 6.02 per cent in 2026, while HDFC Bank has declined 29.12 per cent, the worst among Nifty constituents.

Data showed ICICI Bank is a consensus 'Buy' with 53 recommendations, all positive. The 12-month consensus target price for the stock at Rs 1,745 hinted at Rs 22.6 per cent potential upside. The latest targets on the counter came for UBS (target: Rs 1,800), Citi (target: Rs 1,770), Nomura (Rs 1,700) on Wednesday. Some other brokerages such as MOFSL (Rs 1,750), IDBI Capital (Rs 1,730) and Ambit Capital (Rs 1,600) also see upside on the counter.

HDFC Bank too is a consensus 'Buy' with 47 'Buy' recommendations and two 'Hold' calls, but recent targets on the counter are below the 12-month consensus target of Rs 998. Nomura finds HDCF Bank worthy of Rs 950. MOFSL sees the stock at Rs 925, IBDI Capital at Rs 950 and IIFL at Rs 950. Ambit Capital gave a target of Rs 1,050 this month.

JM Financial said it prefer a bottom-up approach in financials. Its top picks included ICICI Bank and Axis Bank among largecap private lenders. MOFSL also has ICICI Bank among its top picks.

Financials accounted for 36.47 per cent of the index weight, followed by oil, gas & consumable fuels at 9.52 per cent and information technology (IT) at 8.48 per cent.