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Now that Ashwini Vaishnaw will continue as the Railway Minister in the Modi 3.0 government, the focus is expected to once again shift to stocks in this sector, many of which have delivered multibagger returns over the last one year.ETMarkets analysed the performance of railway sector stocks in his previous stint along with the performances of counters in three other ministers during the Narendra Modi 1.0 and 2.0 government. In the previous two governments, there have been four railway ministers viz. D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Suresh Prabhu, Piyush Goyal and Ashwini Vaishnaw.The shortest tenure was of Gowda which spanned between May 26, 2014 and November 9, 2014 and he was the first minister to take charge of this lucrative ministry. He was followed by Suresh Prabhu whose tenure lasted between November 9, 2014 and September 3, 2017. Next to occupy the office was Piyush Goyal between September 4, 2017 and July 7, 2021. Meanwhile, Vaishnaw has been there at the helm since July 7, 2021 to the present day. State-run company stocks like IRCTC, IRFC, Ircon, RVNL, Railtel and RITES were listed in Vaishnaw's tenure. <iframe title="Railway Stocks " aria-label="Table" id="datawrapper-chart-mXHqv" src="https://et-infographics.indiatimes.com/graphs/mXHqv/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="741" data-external="1"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();</script>Analyst Vinit Bolinjkar of Ventura Securities feels that power and railways will be two sectors that could remain in prime focus on the back of huge demand and recommended investors to remain long on them. Amisha Vora, Chairperson & MD, Prabhudas Lilladher also sees long term India growth story to remain intact in the railway sector. In chat with ETNow, she said that the correction which is happening in railways, power or capital goods was very good and it would bring some soberness in the valuations. Nilesh Jain, Assistant Vice President (AVP), Equity Research Technical and Derivatives at Centrum Broking said that the overall railway space is currently witnessing some consolidation and he expects this sideways move to continue in the short term. For him, the stocks like IRCTC, RVNL and Railtel look good and could be added on declines. If someone is already holding them, they should continue holding them, he further said.Fundamentals Most railway stocks have gained on the renewed government focus on the sector resulting in growing orderbook and improved earnings. The best performer is a privately owned Titagarh Rail with over 1,800% returns since he took over. The stock has consistently delivered quarter-on-quarter growth in its net profit. In Q4FY24, the standalone profit after tax (PAT) stood at 79 crore up 64% on the year-on-year basis. Another star performer Jupiter Wagons has reported a 153% YoY uptick in PAT in the January-March quarter at Rs 104 crore. In the PSU pack, RVNL delivered 1066% gain. The gains have been backed by solid performance by the company. Its net profit jumped from Rs 345 crore in Q4FY23 to Rs 433 in Q4FY24, recording a surge of 26% on a YoY basis. IRFC's multibagger rally of 627% is also supported by strong YoY and QoQ earnings growth. Its PAT jumped 33% to Rs 1,717 crore in Q4FY24 from Rs 1,285 crore in Q4FY23. (Data Inputs from Ritesh Presswala)(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

The Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear a petition seeking fresh NEET-UG, 2024 examination amid allegations of paper leak. The plea alleged that the NEET-UG test held on May 5 was riddled with malpractices as various instances of paper leak came to the knowledge of the petitioners.The petition was filed against the National Testing Agency (NTA). NEET-UG examination was held on May 5. NEET-UG examination, conducted by NTA, is pathway for admissions into MBBS, BDS and AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.Results for the exam conducted on May 5 are expected to be declared on June 14.The petition was filed by Shivangi Mishra and others in which NTA has been made a party.The alleged paper leak was violative of Article 14 (right to equality) under the Constitution as it gave an undue advantage to some candidates over others who chose to attempt the examination in a fair manner.(PTI inputs)

By kicking off his third term with Kisan Nidhi scheme and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left stock market investors debating over whether the much sought-after winners of Modi 2.0 will continue to dominate Dalal Street. All Union Ministries have been asked to finalise their 100-day plans.The first 100 days of the new government will be watched closely by market participants. In 2014 when Modi had won for the first time, Sensex had rallied 9.8% in the first 100 days while 2019 saw a decline of 6.74% during the period."With cabinet portfolio allocation and Union Budget being key triggers in the short term, we believe that the first 100 days of Modi 3.0 government would be crucial for many sectors as it may see new or reiteration of the existing policy framework. As in the past, our sense is that economy-facing sectors such as infrastructure, manufacturing, capital goods and power (especially renewable energy) would benefit from increased capital allocation from the government," Manish Chowdhury, Head of Research, StoxBox, told ETMarkets.Though investors expect some form of pro-welfare measures due to the coalition government, policy continuity in terms of economic agenda and fiscal prudence is seen as continuing in the third term."Our sense is that the outlook for PSUs including railways, defence, power and infrastructure has not changed, although investors should focus on revenue visibility, execution capabilities and timeline and valuation metrics in making their investment decision," he said.Also read | Sensex may hit 1 lakh before 5 years, thinner Modi 3.0 doesn't mean end of bull run: Mark MobiusWhile allocating Cabinet ministry portfolios, PM Modi has chosen continuity with Nirmala Sitharaman retaining control of the finance ministry, Rajnath Singh defence and Ashwini Vaishnaw railways."It is expected that the NDA government will continue to prioritize industries like banking, infrastructure, and green energy which they did in the first and second term. All the policies that were made and implemented in the last two terms are also likely to continue in the future," says Diwakar Rana, Fund Manager - PMS at Prudent Equity.Analysts say the government's broad agenda of infra, manufacturing and technology to take the economy forward is unlikely to take a backseat but contentious structural reforms might be delayed."We foresee continuity of focus on growth in manufacturing and infrastructure creation in Modi 3.0. Focus on Defense should continue. We are witnessing a good economic momentum and discretionary consumption should do well. We believe that rural consumption should attract investor attention as some budgets would be diversified to populist measures," said Divam Sharma, Founder and Fund Manager at Green Portfolio.However, some of the sectors related to railways, green energy and PSUs which have run up significantly in anticipation of high growth may normalise in Modi 3.0."Post election results investors are clearly circumspect about the PSU space spanning sectors such as Railways, Defence, Power and Infrastructure which can be judged from the fact that all the key sectors and leading companies in these sectors have started underperforming since the election outcome," points out Ruchir Kapoor, Managing Director, Merisis Wealth.He is of the opinion that money will incrementally rotate into neutral sectors such as IT, consumption, healthcare, autos, chemicals and telecom.Merisis Multicap PMS has taken a balanced portfolio approach with a mix of high-beta stocks spanning metals, infrastructure, industrials and financials balanced by names that have historically enjoyed low volatility in areas such as telecom, pharmaceuticals, autos and IT, complemented with high exposure to precious metals theme. Also read | Chris Wood of Jefferies cuts stake in 3 PSU stocks as PM Modi faces coalition challenge(Data: Ritesh Presswala)(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Shares of fertiliser and agrochemical companies were among the top gainers on the BSE on Monday, after monsoons progressed earlier than expected in various parts of the country. Analysts said investors are hoping that the good rainfall could benefit the agriculture sector, which in turn would boost demand for their products.Fertilisers & Chemicals Travancore (FACT), Nova Agritech, National Fertilizers, Rallis India and Paradeep Phosphates rose between 10% and 15% at closing."We have seen the shift in global weather conditions from the start of 2024, and we are turning from El Nino, which was seen last year, to La Nina, which is known to bring good rains in the Asian subcontinent," said Prashant Biyani, vice president-institutional equity research at Elara Capital. "This will help boost the demand for agri inputs, including agrochemicals and fertilisers."He is bullish on Coromandel International, Bayer CropScience, Rallis and Dhanuka Agritech for the next 9-12 months.Biyani said last year the demand for kharif and rabi crops was 'abysmally low' due to the deficit monsoon, which may be reversed this year.In India, kharif crops like rice, maize, millet, and sugarcane are sown between July and October and harvested from September to October. Rabi crops like wheat, barley, oats, gram, and mustard are sown between October and November and harvested from February to April.Stocks of big fertilisers and agrochemical companies like Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers, Coromandel International, Chambal Fertilisers, NFL and Rallis India returned up to 23.8% in 2024 so far, against the 7% returns of the benchmark Nifty index.Analysts see further upside in these stocks this year."The fertiliser sector has not moved for the last 2-3 years and now, as we move past the heatwaves towards rain this year, we are seeing a rally in these stocks," said Vikram Kasat, head-advisory at Prabhudas Lilladher. "The government is also planning to revive closed fertiliser plants in Talcher, Ramagundam, Gorakhpur, Sindri and Barauni in the next few years, to revive the industry."Kasat said the BJP government's victory in the elections may lead to the continuation of farmer-friendly policies such as PM-Kisan, Aatmanirbhar Bharat, urea subsidy and PM-Garib Kalyan Yojana.Biyani said that the fertilisers and agrochemicals sector is an example of 'rising tides lifting all boats'. "For the entire year, we are positive on this sector, and would prefer domestic branded companies over other companies which have more international exposure as La Nina may bring patchy rains and drought-like conditions in the South American region," said Biyani.

With the proposed changes in criteria for stocks to be eligible for the futures and options segment, around 25 stocks are likely to be excluded from the current list, while nearly 78 are likely to find place in the segment, according to analysts' estimates.Sebi has proposed changes for the eligibility of F&O stocks which include higher thresholds for order size and market-wide position limits, and the introduction of a Product Success Framework for single-stock derivatives after six months.Based on Sebi's proposed criteria, Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research has released a list of 78 probable stocks that could enter the F&O segment. Prominent names include Zomato, YES Bank, Jio Financial, NHPC, Adani Green, IRFC, Varun Beverages, BSE, LIC, DMart, Bank of India, Titagarh Rail, HUDCO, and Sterling & Wilson Solar, among others.