Tale of the Tape 

Howdy folks. Markets had a great day!

Nifty and Sensex ended up 1% each on the back of heavyweight buying. Sentiment was up on the back of a stable Q2 earnings, Trump hinting that India could stop Russian oil imports and lingering Fed rate cut optimism. Broader markets were up too, but Midcaps (+0.5%) and Smallcaps (+0.2%) saw more muted gains. The advance-decline ratio was in favour of the bulls (3:2).

Except PSU Banks (-0.4%), every other sector finished in the green. FMCG (+2%) led the rally, followed by Real Estate (+1.9%) and Auto (+1.3%).

In today’s issue of the Daily Rip, we cover ICICI’s top Diwali picks, Nestle India and Axis Bank’s Q2 results, Hyundai’s investor day and the IEX insider trading scandal.

Honourable Mentions:

BLS International zoomed +15% after bagging a 3-year GOI contract for visa centres in China. PS - it bid for it before being blacklisted, but it looks good for its decision to appeal the debarment. Rubicon Research kicked off its Dalal Street debut in style; closing at Rs 620 p/sh (+28% from its IPO price).

Check out the NSE 500 heatmap:

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Fataka Stocks 2.0

Hey guys! Our series on Diwali stocks continues. Today, we have ICICI Direct’s top picks for Samvat 2082. Let’s get into it.

1) Kaynes Technology: After an INSANE 2024, the stock is down -7% YTD. But that was mostly a well-deserved correction. Under the hood, Kaynes is prepping for the next wave of growth. Over the last year, it has invested Rs 3,300-cr in chip manufacturing (testing & packing) and another Rs 1,400 cr in PCB manufacturing. FYI - both projects will finally start operations in Q4FY26 and are expected to be profitable from Day 1. PS - ICICI has a target price of Rs 8,900 p/sh; implying a cool +29% upside from current levels. 

2) Data Patterns: For the unaware, the company is India's fastest-growing defence & aerospace electronics provider. Data Patterns currently has an order backlog of Rs 1,080 cr (1.5x TTM revenue) but is guiding for inflows of Rs 3,000-cr over the next two years! When combined with its excellent execution track record + Make-in-India push, it could be a winning combo. FYI - ICICI sees a +31% rally over the next year.

3) Greenlam Industries: The firm is a top maker of global laminates, with a ~18% market share in the domestic market and a ~29% share in exports. What’s popping? Well, its greenfield & brownfield expansion plans are finally coming to an end. After entering new segments like plywood & chipboards, its total addressable market will jump to Rs 49,000 cr vs Rs 11,000 cr earlier. This is why experts are projecting its topline to grow at a CAGR of 16.7% over FY25-28. PS - the brokerage has a target price of Rs 300 p/sh; +16% upside from current levels.