India's June-quarter earnings season has given brokerages fresh reason to look beyond index volatility and return to stock-picking, with a series of brokerages naming a long list of post-Q1 ideas across banks, autos, telecom, defence, metals, healthcare, capital goods and consumption. The lists put out by the brokerages together contain 50 recommendations, including some marquee names such as ICICI Bank, SBI, Hindalco and Shriram Finance.
The common thread is that investors are being asked to focus on companies with earnings visibility, balance-sheet strength and sector tailwinds after a better-than-expected Q1FY27 earnings season.
Motilal Oswal said the first quarter corporate earnings season ended on a strong note, with 19 sectors beating its expectations. The brokerage said earnings growth was led by financials, metals, oil and gas excluding oil marketing companies, automobiles, chemicals, textiles and real estate. Oil marketing companies were the main drag on the overall numbers.
For its coverage universe excluding OMCs, sales rose 18%, EBITDA grew 15% and profit after tax increased 22% year-on-year, ahead of its estimates of 15%, 10% and 15%, respectively. It said the growth was helped by BFSI, metals, oil and gas, technology and telecom.
The Nifty also delivered a strong quarter. Nifty profit after tax grew 18% year-on-year, compared with its estimate of 10%, marking a 10-quarter high. ONGC, Hindalco, Reliance Industries, JSW Steel and Bharti Airtel contributed 60% of the incremental year-on-year earnings growth.
The brokerage's preferred Nifty 50 ideas after Q1 results include Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, SBI, Titan Company, Mahindra and Mahindra, Bharat Electronics, Eternal, Hindalco, Shriram Finance, InterGlobe Aviation and Apollo Hospitals.
Outside the Nifty, the brokerage has picked TVS Motor, BSE, GE Vernova T&D, HDFC AMC, Lenskart Solutions, Indian Hotels, Meesho, Dixon Technologies, Coforge, Radico Khaitan, Delhivery, Kirloskar Oil Engines, RBL Bank, TBO Tek and Arvind.
The preference shows a mix of old economy and new economy names. Autos, banks, defence, hospitals and telecom sit alongside platform businesses such as Eternal, Meesho, Lenskart, Delhivery and TBO Tek. The inclusion of BSE and HDFC AMC also reflects the continuing interest in financialisation-linked businesses.
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Axis Securities has taken a similar view on the market backdrop, saying India showed resilience in the first half of CY2026 despite West Asia tensions, Brent crude moving above $100 a barrel and foreign portfolio investor outflows of Rs 2.25 lakh crore so far in the year.
The brokerage said monthly SIP flows remained above Rs 31,000 crore, with June inflows at Rs 31,115 crore, giving the market a steady domestic liquidity cushion during heavy FII selling. It also pointed to a rural-led consumption recovery, with rural demand growing 8.4% year-on-year against 4.6% growth in urban markets.
"As we enter H2, we believe the market is gradually transitioning from a macro-driven phase towards a more fundamentally-led, earnings-driven cycle," Axis Securities said.
Axis expects the Nifty to reach 27,200 by December 2026 in its base case, assuming a 19.5 times price-to-earnings multiple. Its bull case target is 28,615, while its bear case level is 23,030. The brokerage said the market now calls for a disciplined "buy on dips" approach, with focus on quality businesses, strong balance sheets and earnings visibility.
Axis remains constructive on financials, defence, capital goods, power and utilities, telecom, auto and healthcare. It is selective on IT services because of dependence on global discretionary spending, and cautious on FMCG and paints due to crude-linked raw material cost pressures.
Its top ideas include Navin Fluorine with a target price of Rs 8,600, VA Tech Wabag with a target price of Rs 2,105, Jubilant Ingrevia with a target price of Rs 835, Mold-Tek Packaging with a target price of Rs 850 and Aarti Industries with a target price of Rs 560.
In banking, Axis has a buy call on Kotak Mahindra Bank with a target price of Rs 500 and ICICI Bank with a target price of Rs 1,700. Among PSU banks, it has picked State Bank of India with a target price of Rs 1,285. In mid-sized and small banks, it recommends Federal Bank with a target of Rs 340 and Ujjivan Small Finance Bank with a target of Rs 78.
In NBFCs, Axis has buy calls on Bajaj Finance with a target price of Rs 1,160, Shriram Finance with a target price of Rs 1,200 and CreditAccess Grameen with a target price of Rs 1,850. It has also named APL Apollo Tubes with a target price of Rs 2,250 and Hindalco Industries with a target price of Rs 1,155 as top conviction ideas.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)
