Amidst mayhem on D-Street, select software, FMCG stocks put up sterling act

The New Year has brought nothing but bad news for the stock market till date. Wednesday was no different, with the bellwethers — Sensex and Nifty — losing about 1.7 per cent from the previous day’s close.

Twenty days into 2016, both these indices have already lost around 8 per cent. Reasons such as the Chinese market uncertainty, fall in crude prices and the damp show on the export front have all dented investor sentiments. But amidst this gloom, there are some stocks that have managed to buck the trend.

Eleven out of the 500 stocks in the CNX 500 index have clocked gains ranging from 0.6 per cent to 44 per cent so far this year. Softwareand FMCG stocks — normally considered as defensive picks in falling markets — have lived up to this reputation this time too, with stocks such as Infosys, Mindtree and Emami figuring in the list of gainers.

Infosys has been buoyed by good December quarter results too. The company bettered TCS for the third straight quarter by registering 0.6 per cent sequential growth in dollar revenues. Volume growth came in at an impressive 3.1 per cent, aided by a strong show in the financial services and retail verticals. Despite lower realisations, a weak rupee and good volume growth helped keep margin contraction at the minimum.

Mid- and small–cap stocks, such as Shrenuj & Co, Balrampur Chini and Torrent Power are the top three gainers. Interestingly, while Shrenuj & Co hit its one-year low on January 1, and has seen a pick up after that till date, both Balrampur Chini and Torrent Power touched their one-year highs earlier this month. However, they have seen a bit of a correction since then.

In fact, Shrenuj & Co was among the top losers of 2015, falling 75 per cent during January-December 2015. Among other stocks that also closed in the green so far this year are Rajesh Exports, Indraprastha Gas, SREI Infrastructure Finance and Gujarat Pipavav Port — the first three touched their one-year highs earlier this month.

Steps taken by the Delhi government to combat pollution and judicial pronouncements favouring CNG-run taxis and buses in Delhi have brightened the long-term prospects of Indraprastha Gas. CNG accounts for more than three-fourths of the company’s revenues.

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