On Friday, the S&P BSE Sensex nosedived 1,448 points or 3.64 per cent to end the session at 38,297 while Nifty plunged 432 points or 3.7 per cent to end at 11,202.
However, select stocks bucked the market trend and stood tall despite the all-round sell-off. A quick study of BSE500 stocks show that as many as 9 stocks rallied 8 per cent or above between February 20 and March 2. DHFL tops the list with nearly 34 per cent gains, followed by India Cements (up over 21 per cent), BASF India (up 21 per cent), and NLC India (up around 12.5 per cent), ACE Equity data show.
Other stocks that gave positive returns include Navin Fluorine International, Metropolis Healthcare, Deepak Nitrite, Pfizer, and Dr Lal Pathlabs.
India Cements has been in focus as brothers Radhakishan Damani and Gopikishan Damani increased their stake in the company to 12 per cent.
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Besides, chemical companies have gained ground as they have seen rise in orders and expansion of capacities amid coronavirus outbreak. Given the expansions, tie-ups with foreign majors, and innovative product launches, analysts believe there could be further upside from the current levels.
The rally in Navin Fluorine, however, was news-based. The company entered into a $410 million multi-year contract with a global company for manufacture and supply of a high performance product (HPP) in the fluorochemicals space. The project will entail an investment of about $51.50 million (Rs 365.50 crore) in the manufacturing facility and $10 million (Rs 71 crore) in captive power plant.
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