Indian shares are likely to open on a flat note on Friday following the muted trend in Asian peers. Investors may remain on the sidelines ahead of exit polls on May 19. With results out on May 23, exit polls are seen as indicators to which party forms the government. On Thursday, benchmark indices advanced in the last hour of trade to close near the day's high led by gains in metal, IT and energy stocks. The Sensex ended 279 points higher at 37,393, while Nifty was up 100 points to settle at 11,257.

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Among stocks, Sudarshan Sukhani was bullish on Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank and MindTree, and bullish on Bharat Forge and Biocon. Mitessh Thakkar had a 'buy' call on Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, and MCX India and 'sell' call on Dr Reddy's. Prakash Gaba was positive on HDFC Bank, Manappuram Finance and Kotak Bank, and negative on Interglobe Aviation.

Stock recommendations by top market experts for Friday:

Sudarshan Sukhani - s2analytics.com

- Buy Reliance Industries with a stop loss of Rs 1,258. target at Rs 1,285

- Buy Kotak Mahindra Bank with a stop loss of Rs 1,400, target at Rs 1,420

- Buy Mindtree with a stop loss of Rs 974, target at Rs 988

- Sell Bharat Forge with a stop loss of Rs 458, target at Rs 446

- Sell Biocon with a stop loss of Rs 533, target at Rs 520

Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.

Mitessh Thakkar - mitesshthakkar.com

- Buy Bajaj Finserv with a stop loss of Rs 7,539, target at Rs 7,760

- Buy HDFC Bank with a stop loss of Rs 2,304, target at Rs 2,350

- Buy MCX India with a stop loss of Rs 814, target at Rs 855

- Sell Dr Reddy's Labs with a stop loss of Rs 2,822, target at Rs 2,760

Prakash Gaba - prakashgaba.com

- Buy Kotak Mahindra Bank with a stop loss of Rs 1,400, target at Rs 1,450

- Buy Manappuram Finance with a stop loss of Rs 120, target at Rs 126

- Buy HDFC Bank with a stop loss of Rs 2,300, target at Rs 2,350

- Sell Interglobe Aviation with a stop loss of Rs 1,525, target at Rs 1,415

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