At the ET NOW Markets Summit 2026, market veterans Utpal Sheth of TRUST Group, Sridhar Sivaram of Enam Holdings and Hiren Ved of Alchemy Capital Management shared their outlook on India’s economy, markets and investment landscape, highlighting a coming capex boom, strong credit growth, opportunities in financials and manufacturing, the importance of diversified asset allocation, and the long-term impact of global trends such as AI, energy security and deglobalisation.
Utpal Sheth – Founder & Mentor, TRUST Group
Speaking at the ET NOW Markets Summit 2026, Utpal said a larger fiscal deficit would act as a stimulus for the economy. He noted that the government has remained responsive to disruptions and is providing positive support to the economy.
Created with AI. Errors are possibleSheth said the tax break provided to data centres represents a policy stimulus. He added that the world is currently witnessing a global super cycle and that India is participating in it.
At the same time, he pointed to the ongoing deglobalisation trend, under which India is facing supply chain and AI-related disruptions.
According to Sheth, India is poised to witness a capex cycle not seen in a decade.
Sheth added that the financial services industry is the sector in which he currently has the highest conviction for investment.
Sridhar Sivaram – Investment Director, Enam Holdings Pvt. Ltd
Meanwhile, Sivaram emphasised the importance of maintaining a balanced asset allocation strategy. He said investors should allocate 10-15 per cent of their portfolio to international equities, 10-15 per cent to gold, and the remaining portion to equities.
Sivaram said that proper asset allocation and diversification across asset classes help mitigate investment risk.
He noted that India is a net crude oil importer and remarked that FY27 would have been a great year for investors had the war not occurred.
According to Sivaram, India offers multiple investment themes rather than being driven by a single theme.
On monetary policy, he said the RBI’s inflation targets are overconservative. He pointed out that last year’s inflation contribution of 60 basis points was primarily driven by inflation in gold and silver.
Sivaram said he does not subscribe to the El Niño-related concerns and does not believe there will be any rate hikes. He added that his expectation is that the RBI will not raise interest rates.
Discussing the technology sector, Sivaram said he has maintained a bearish outlook on the Indian IT sector for the past two years due to its current low-growth phase. He stated that Indian IT companies are at the bottom of the pyramid and that the sector will continue to derate and witness slower growth.
On sector preferences, he said he has strong conviction in the financial sector.
Sivaram noted that nominal credit growth has remained around 12 per cent over the past two to three years and expects sustained credit growth of 18-20 per cent going forward.
Hiren Ved – Director & CIO, Alchemy Capital Management
Hiren said news tends to be discounted very quickly in today’s markets, with investors often reacting rapidly to developments.
Ved cited the example of the 2024 general elections, noting that markets had expected the government to secure a substantial majority. When that did not happen, investors sold defence stocks and bought consumer stocks. However, as events unfolded, defence stocks subsequently performed well.
Ved stressed that investors should focus on the long-term potential for wealth creation. He said it is important to consider long-term structural trends and maintain a consistent investment strategy.
According to Ved, the world is currently in a global capex super cycle. He highlighted that specialisation in defence, semiconductors and energy security is crucial for the growth of any economy.
He said Alchemy Capital remains committed to investing in electrification and believes that capital expenditure in energy security cannot be halted.
Discussing artificial intelligence, Ved said a major narrative around India is that it lacks a direct AI trade and described India as an anti-AI trade country. However, he noted that the India AI Index has delivered a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 52 per cent over the past three years.
On earnings, Ved said fourth-quarter earnings were better than anticipated. However, he expects Q1 FY27 results to witness margin compression.
He pointed out that high single-digit nominal GDP growth was a challenge last fiscal year. At the same time, he believes corporates have learned from the 2022 cycle and will become much smarter in passing on higher costs to end consumers.
Ved said the current tensions in West Asia are creating a shock similar to that experienced during the Russia-Ukraine war. He expects Q1 FY27 results to be impacted by margin pressures arising from the West Asia conflict.
However, he added that margin compression during the current fiscal year is unlikely to be as severe as that witnessed during the COVID period or in 2022.
On the global economy, Ved said US inflation has risen primarily because of the energy crisis rather than tariffs.
Ved identified Hitachi Energy, GE Vernova, ABB, Apar Industries, Polycab and Blue Star as key investment beneficiaries of the AI capex theme.
Looking ahead, Ved said India is likely to witness a very strong credit cycle over the medium term. While he expects credit growth to remain robust, he believes manufacturing will deliver even stronger growth.
He concluded by stating that manufacturing will be one of the defining investment stories of the coming decade and that the sector is poised for a strong decade ahead.
