According to latest data from ACE MF, L&T emerged as a top favourite stock among mutual funds, held by 610 funds with 26.48 crore shares worth ₹99,565 crore in their portfolios. The infrastructure major was recommended as a hold by Jash Shah, Fundamental Research Analyst at Latin Manharlal, with a current market price of ₹3,632. ICICI Bank secured the second position with 788 funds holding 211 crore shares worth ₹2.79 lakh crore, receiving a buy recommendation from Jatin Gedia, Vice President - Technical Research at Teji Mandi Investment Technologies, with a current market price of ₹1,389.40.
The banking sector demonstrated strong mutual fund interest with HDFC Bank held by 761 funds and 408 crore shares worth ₹2.89 lakh crore, while SBI was held by 708 funds with 125 crore shares worth ₹1.20 lakh crore. Axis Bank rounded out the top banking picks with 707 mutual fund schemes holding 107 crore shares worth ₹1.31 lakh crore. In the telecommunications space, Bharti Airtel attracted 682 mutual fund schemes with 77.42 crore shares worth ₹1.63 lakh crore, while Reliance Industries was held by 659 mutual fund schemes with 137 crore shares worth ₹1.36 lakh crore.
The overall IT sector received positive sentiment from the experts. According to reports from NDTV Profit, LTM was recommended as a buy by Gedia with a current market price of ₹4,235. Gedia highlighted that the overall IT space has been positive and most results have been positive, making it suitable for entry. Eternal and Infosys were held by 605 funds each, with mutual funds maintaining 279 crore shares of Eternal and 85.96 crore shares of Infosys in their portfolios. Kotak Mahindra Bank and M&M were held by 604 funds and 602 funds respectively, with mutual funds holding 250 crore shares and 23.21 crore shares of these stocks.
Lupin received a buy recommendation from Gedia with a current market price of ₹1,980.90, citing favorable risk-reward at current levels. In the energy sector, Siemens Energy was recommended as a buy by Shah with a current market price of ₹2,957. The experts provided detailed analysis for each stock, considering factors such as market conditions, sector performance, and technical indicators before making their recommendations. The mutual fund data reveals strong institutional confidence across these sectors, with Lupin held by 605 funds and Siemens Energy by 604 funds.
Recent market analysis from The Economic Times highlights additional stock recommendations for Friday trading. Bajaj Holdings is recommended as a buy at ₹11,220-11,225 with a stop loss of ₹10,770 and target of ₹12,100. The stock showed strong bullish recovery with a 4.19% gain, moving above key moving averages and RSI rebounding toward 57. Adani Power is suggested as a buy at ₹196-197 with stop loss at ₹188.5 and target of ₹212, recovering from support near ₹185-190 zone with RSI recovering from oversold territory.
