We’re back with the Second Edition of Markets Espresso and we have headed into this weekend with a lot more ease compared to the previous one. But just before you slip into your afternoon siesta, sit back, relax, and we’ll tell you all about the biggest voices on CNBC-TV18 and what do they feel about India and the road ahead for the markets!
Donald Trump can move markets. He’s been doing this since his tariff tantrum back in 2025. Until Thursday night he was going to hit Iran “very hard”. Within a few hours, they were within touching distance of signing a deal. The markets latched on to it and how!
For the Nifty that struggled to cross 23,500 for what felt like an eternity, it breezed past that mark on Friday afternoon. Everything that could possibly work in its favour, worked. Crude prices fell, the currency appreciated against the USD, the bond yields cooled off, and for a net short market, good news is the best trigger for a short-covering move. The result is before you. Most of these gains have come on Friday.
Citi has a message for those investing in India – Do Not Miss The Woods For The Trees! They did cut their Nifty target to 26,000 from 27,000 earlier, but highlighted three medium-term positives for the market. One, domestic demand has held up well and should remain so except for any cost-led inflation. Two, India’s weightage in the EM index is down to 11% from 20% in mid-2024. Lastly, domestic flows have sustained through a weak market. They are overweight on financials, telecom, healthcare, utilities and defence, while being underweight on IT, Staples, and Metals. Full story here.
Sanjay Mookim, JPMorgan’s head of India equity research highlighted corporate India’s optimism despite the near-term headwinds. His firm analysed earnings call transcripts across 42 sectors using AI and found that most companies are still guiding for double-digit growth in financial year 2027. JPMorgan remains constructive on defence and renewable energy. Mookim also sees Pharma benefiting from a weaker currency, while financials is a preferred investment theme. Full interview here.
Another one with a private sector bank preference is Pratik Gupta of Kotak Institutional Equities. He told CNBC-TV18 that he wants to be cautious on the mid and smallcap opportunities in India and sees opportunities in telecom, domestic pharma and hotels. For the T&D companies, he said valuations are no longer favourable. An anti-consensus call comes on IT, where he is bullish long-term, although the near-term could see more earnings cuts. He expects a 15% Nifty earnings CAGR for FY27.
During periods of growth slowdown, Sunil Koul of Goldman Sachs says that investor focus should lean toward “quality” companies — those with strong balance sheets, high Return on Equity (ROE), and high earnings visibility. He is also placing his bets on financials, consumption, real estate and utilities. For the medium term, he prefers agri, defence, affluent consumption, and tourism.
Sandeep Bhatia of Macquarie noted that he does not expect the FII sentiment towards India to change soon as market valuations are the real barriers for them to return to our domestic markets. He expects India to benefit if the AI trade slows down, and also likes the energy sector along with a positive stance on the power theme. Titan, Nestle, Indian Hotels, Chalet are among some of his preferences.
The one stock that continues to make headlines for its wild moves is CarTrade Tech. From a ₹1,600 IPO, the stock fell to as low as ₹300-odd, then went up to as high as ₹3,300 and is now gained nearly 50% in the last 8-10 trading sessions. Sanjay Parekh of Sohum Asset Managers added the stock recently, stating that the concerns around AI are overdone on the stock. He also likes names such as Samvardhana Motherson, DLF, Maruti and Mahindra & Mahindra, along with Dilip Buildcon. (The Picture Above Is Representational In Nature)
The upcoming week promises to be no less action-packed! Monday itself will see all four demerged entities of Vedanta listing, so that is one event to monitor. It’s a big week for lock-ins coming to an end as well. Keep an eye on Vishal Mega Mart, IKS Health, MobiKwik and ICICI Prudential AMC among others. Next week is also the big Fed policy, Kevin Warsh’s first as Fed Chair, and the global markets will wait with bated breath as to what he has to say on the interest rate trajectory ahead. And last but not the least, Donald Trump and his Truth Social – enough said.
We spoke about optimism returning last week, and that looks to be falling into place. The bulls would only hope that it sustains. Everything is not hunky dory yet, but after three months of war, no war, yes, no, ceasefire, no ceasefire, oil up, oil down, a little bit of stability and hope is always welcome! Do like, share and subscribe to Market Espresso and follow CNBC-TV18 on our social media platforms! See ya next Saturday!
