Nifty 50 may touch 24,200 next year led by FPI inflows, says ICICI Direct; Federal Bank, Gail among top picks for 2024

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ICICI Securities is bullish on the Indian markets and has a target of 24,200 for Nifty 50 in the calendar year 2024 driven by foreign fund inflows. “The Nifty has a tendency to extend the move towards mean+3 sigma levels after crossing life highs. Heavyweight stocks from BFSI, Auto, Cement and Healthcare should lead Nifty towards 24,200 levels in CY-24," said Pankaj Pandey, Head Research, ICICI Direct in a report.

Also Read: Nifty 50 valuations are rich, offer 8-10% upside in 2024, says HDFC Securities; lists out stocks to accumulate next year The brokerage firm expects volatility to be sticky around current levels in coming months. Hence, in the first half of 2024, ICICI Direct suggests investors to adopt the “Buy on dips" strategy. Indian indices made fresh life highs in December 2023 and were among the best performing markets.

The outperformance was aided by resumption of foreign flows which was highest among peers. “The net flows for the current calendar year is nearly $20 billion while the rest of the emerging markets have seen nominal flows. In the post covid era, while most of the markets are still reeling near their 2021 highs, Indian markets have given significant returns," ICICI Direct report said.

(Exciting news! Mint is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest financial insights! Click here!) The calendar year 2023 saw resumption in FII flows as interest rate peaks and expectations of rate cut sets in. Fresh flows were seen as the market anticipated a halt and then gradual decline in interest rates. Earlier in CY-22 we saw severe pullout from FPIs as the US Fed accelerated interest rates to historical highs, the brokerage firm noted.