rewrite this title and make it good for SEOPaytm and Vedanta emerge as top buys amid sectoral rotation and profit booking: CA Rudramurthy BV

After six consecutive sessions of solid gains, the Nifty paused for breath on Friday, slipping below the 26,000 mark. While some investors see this as a short-term consolidation, market expert CA Rudramurthy BV believes the broader trend remains strong and sector rotation could fuel further upside.

“See, we have to understand from 24,600 Nifty has gone non-stop to 26,100. So just in two weeks Nifty has given a range of about 1500 points and an up move of 1500 points for two weeks, that what index level is substantial and now we are seeing some profit booking that is for yesterday and today,” Rudramurthy told ET Now.

He pointed out that the benchmark is now trading close to its all-time high of 26,280, prompting some natural profit booking. However, he remains optimistic about the underlying fundamentals. “If you see fundamentally too, result season this quarter is far better than last quarter, even the business updates and the future expectations are coming bright,” he said.

Rudramurthy also cited positive developments such as easing geopolitical tensions, a potential India-US trade deal lowering tariffs from 50% to 15%, and crude oil prices stabilizing around $65 per barrel, which he called “very lucrative for India.”

“Stock prices are slaves of earnings and earnings are definitely way-way better than last quarter,” he added, highlighting early signs of recovery in the IT sector. “Money will now start flowing from banking to IT and for me you have to be sector specific and stock specific in this market, no shorting whatsoever. Lot of buying opportunity and lot of good sectors and stocks are available for someone to definitely buy any dip which comes from here.”

All-Time Highs in Sight

On whether Nifty could breach its all-time high as early as next week, Rudramurthy was upbeat. “Definitely possible because no one expected all-time highs to come even in this financial year… even though I was bullish but I never expected all-time highs to come before December,” he said. He noted that while the benchmark indices are near record highs, many investors still feel left out as mid- and small-cap participation has been limited. “Portfolios are at three-years low in general, that is because the mid and smallcap participation is yet to come. But we have to understand money will first flow into largecap, later on it will move to broader market then to mid and smallcap, so people have to have the patience and be in the right sector.”

Sectoral and Stock Picks

Rudramurthy believes IT, PSU banks, metals, and new-age platform companies are set to outperform in the near term.

On IT, he said, “Persistent Systems, Wipro, Oracle, Tech Mahindra or if you want to be in the largecap still TCS and Infosys looks very good. So, it is one sector definitely you can look for.”

He also remains bullish on public sector banks, naming SBI, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Indian Bank, and Bank of India as his preferred picks.

“Metals are shining very bright and it will continue to do good,” he said, adding that “Vedanta, Hindalco, JSW Steel, and Jindal Steel” look particularly attractive.

New-age platform companies are also on his radar. “Stocks like Paytm, Swiggy, Zomato, and Nykaa all look very good to me,” he said.

Top Stock Recommendations

For today’s trading session, Rudramurthy picked two stocks: Paytm and Vedanta.

“Paytm looks very strong to me. Clear breakout has happened in the stock above 1280, at current level a great risk-reward to buy, available in futures one can definitely go long and keep rolling it over,” he said. He expects the stock to reach ₹1,400 initially and potentially ₹2,000 in one to two years, with a stop loss at ₹1,270.

His second pick, Vedanta, has also shown a bullish breakout. “Stock has given clear breakout above 485, 490; headed towards 525 and then towards 600; keep a stop loss of 485 and go long on Vedanta,” he said.

With strong earnings momentum, easing global conditions, and clear sectoral trends, Rudramurthy believes the markets are poised for another leg up. “For me, it definitely looks very good and very strong after all the news flow what we have seen in last two days,” he concluded.