Axis Securities raise Nifty target to 17,200 for December 2021; lists top picks

The Q3FY21 GDP grew by 0.4 percent YoY after registering two consecutive quarters of sharp decline. Further, the brokerage expects inflation to remain in the 4 percent zone for 2021 which means that RBI’s accommodative policy stance will continue and support economic growth. Moreover, the corporate earnings are seeing strong traction with BFSI’s share in earnings rising over the next two years which is a significant positive, it added.

The brokerage also noted that value as an investment style has

outperformed all the other styles in the last one year by a significant margin but growth has started to catch up. It believes both Value and Growth will outperform the market in the next 12 months. It also finds that Value is seeing tremendous traction in the beaten-down sectors.

The brokerage lists its top picks: ICICI Bank, Manappuram Finance, Canfin Homes, Federal Bank, Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Varun Beverages, Relaxo Footwears, Amber Enterprises, NOCIL, Endurance Technologies, Steel Strip Wheels, Lupin, and JK Lakshmi Cement

The month of February was a roller coaster ride for the Indian markets with the first trading day of the month seeing a 5 percent rise in benchmark Nifty Index (Union Budget Rally) and the last day seeing a correction of around 4 percent.

"Even though the month saw higher volatility than the long-term average, the market trend was constructive. The trend across the core sectors was very strong during the month which is a significant positive," noted Axis Securities in a recent report.