Nifty constituents such as Trent Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Bharat Electronics Ltd and Bharti Airtel Ltd surged 50-130 per cent in 2024 even as the 50-pack NSE barometer ended up delivering a single-digit return of 8.7 per cent. For 2025, analysts are bullish on a couple of stocks including ITC Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, Reliance Industries Ltd, Titan Company Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd and Bajaj Auto. They stayed upbeat on Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
2025 is expected to bring heightened challenges and increased market volatility compared to 2024, emphasising the need for disciplined risk management and a cautious investment approach, said Ajit Mishra - SVP, Research at Religare Broking Ltd. Amid this backdrop, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, and Titan stand out as strong candidates for delivering solid returns in 2025, he said.
Reliance Industries, he said, is well-positioned to benefit from its diversified growth engines across retail, digital services, and new energy, supported by improving GRM margins and robust gas pricing in its O2C and upstream businesses.
"HDFC Bank, leveraging its technology-driven operational efficiency, improving profitability, and industry-leading growth potential due to a lower CD ratio, offers a compelling value proposition. Meanwhile, Titan’s unmatched dominance in the jewellery market, bolstered by the reduction in gold import duties, further strengthens its prospects for continued growth and profitability," Mishra said.
Jathin Kaithavalappil, Assistant Vice President at Choice Broking, picked ICICI Bank, Bajaj Auto and Titan Company as his top Nifty picks for 2025.
Narendra Solanki of Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers finds ITC interesting. He said ITC’s packaged foods such as Ashirwad, Sunfeast, YiPPee! and Bingo!; and personal care products, continued gaining traction. With a solid balance sheet, no debt, and value from its hotel demerger, ITC is well positioned for profitability, he said.
On M&M, Solanki said the company has guided for 5 per cent volume growth for the tractor segment and 15-18 per cent volume growth for the auto segment in FY25 on the back of strong order backlog for UV’s, new launches in ICE and EV’s and a leadership position in tractors.
"Also, in tractor division, company plans to enter Western European market in FY26 and aims to expand its market share in the coming years We believe that such company’s strategic approach with strong balance sheet will continue to leverage its performance in coming quarters," he said.
A conservative, process-driven approach and agile management would drive best-in-class 2.4 per cent RoA over FY24-27, Solanki said on ICICI Bank. He said ICICI Bank is the gold standard in banking and will continue to see expanded multiples.