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Economic Times
12 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Valuations ahead of earnings — Time for bottom-up value picks: Shrikant Chouhan
Q) The second half of 2025 started on a volatile note. How are you looking at the markets? One of the reasons could be FIIs selling, which continues in July. Live Events Q) IPOs have picked up recently, but EY report highlighted that Indian IPO activity in the first half of 2025 recorded 108 deals raising US$4.6b, demonstrating market resilience despite a 30% decline in transactions. Q) What is the initial sense you are picking up from the June quarter results, which have started to come out? Q) Is the current equity market rally largely liquidity-driven, or are there sufficient earnings fundamentals to back the optimism? Q) SIPs crossed Rs27K – what does it talk about the retail investor behaviour change? Q) Where are the pockets of opportunities coming from? Q) Where is the smart money moving? Q) How should one play the small & midcap space? (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel In this edition of ETMarkets Smart Talk, we caught up with Shrikant Chouhan , Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities , to decode the current market setup amid rising volatility and persistent FII Indian equities trade in a tight range with global uncertainties weighing on sentiment, Chouhan emphasizes the importance of bottom-up, value-driven investing , especially in a landscape where valuations appear to be running ahead of earnings He shares insights on retail investor behaviour, IPO momentum, sectoral opportunities, and why smart money is gravitating toward hospitals, digital-first firms, and capital market-linked businesses. Edited Excerpts –Markets are trading in a tight range, and we believe they will remain directionless until clarity emerges on tariff-related announcements from Mr. Trump. Aggressive buying is absent, as investors are selectively hunting for continue to sell, largely due to stretched valuations and the attractiveness of the US bond market. Additionally, a weaker currency—hovering around 86—adds to the negative sentiment for foreign enthusiasm is being driven by retail flows and QIP money, but sustainability depends on post-listing performance. Value-backed companies will still find takers, even if broader activity moderates.Q1FY26 results so far lack surprises, coming in largely in line or slightly below are witnessing a classic bottom-up approach in the market, supported by strong domestic macro investors are on the right path—sticking to a disciplined strategy that aligns with long-term wealth creation. This shift in behavior seems structural, not a market where valuations run ahead of earnings, the only prudent strategy is selective, bottom-up, and value-driven capital market-linked businesses, and digital-first companies appear to be in the spotlight, steadily attracting fresh investments from informed investors and institutions selection demands caution. Before investing, give top priority to corporate governance, analyze the P&L and balance sheet, and assess the company's market share and business model in depth.: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)


Economic Times
12 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Don't short this market; better days ahead post tariff resolution: Ajay Bagga
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel "So far, there have been broad disappointments—except perhaps refining margins, which have performed better. But overall, margins have declined across most sectors. Even in banking, we've seen higher provisions and lower margins due to rate cuts. So overall: disappointing earnings, high valuations, and unsupportive global cues—that's the current story of the Indian markets ," says Ajay Bagga , Market three major factors were pressuring the Indian markets on Friday. If we look globally, markets were down—MSCI Asia closed 1% lower, MSCI Europe, midway through the session, was down about 0.6%, and MSCI Emerging Markets were down 0.7%. So, the correction was reason behind this is, firstly, the strong recovery from April onwards. We saw a dip approaching the July deadlines, which were then rolled over to August 1st. As we approach that date, markets are reacting to the heavy news flow expected next week, including the Fed meeting and the August 1st deadline. Global markets are a bit cautious, and Indian markets are reflecting this is the fourth consecutive week of decline for the Nifty , largely driven by FPI selling, which is more due to valuation concerns. Nifty's one-year forward P/E is still around 23.5 times. The expectation was that, given last year's slowdown from March to September, this year's June YoY numbers would benefit from the base effect, and we'd see double-digit overall earnings growth—but that hasn't far, there have been broad disappointments—except perhaps refining margins, which have performed better. But overall, margins have declined across most sectors. Even in banking, we've seen higher provisions and lower margins due to rate cuts. So overall: disappointing earnings, high valuations, and unsupportive global cues—that's the current story of the Indian a confusing market. Let me give you two quick pharma. Despite President Trump promising tariffs on pharma by the end of the week, we saw a rally in the sector on Friday. That's puzzling, as pharma is one of the sectors most at risk this look at the broader market: ₹1.5 lakh crore worth of shares have been offloaded by promoters and PE funds with minimal impact cost. The market has absorbed it. The primary market is in a frenzy—we are headed for a historic high in fundraises. The QIP for the biggest bank came in at ₹25,000 crore and attracted bids worth over ₹1 lakh there's ample liquidity and appetite. Retail investors are providing an exit to FPIs. It's a bipolar market—retailers are buying while institutions are exiting, and that sentiment is keeping the market resilient. When this sentiment shifts—and a big trigger could be the India-US tariff announcement expected around mid to late August—there could be a major FPI short squeeze (currently 85% net short).So, I wouldn't recommend shorting this market. I'd recommend having faith in it. We'll see better days once the uncertainty around US tariffs is the UK FTA, the UK Parliament has approved it, but it may take a year to implement. So, let's wait and see. It'll benefit labour-intensive sectors like textiles, leather, gems and jewellery, small machinery, chemicals, organics, and seafood. Indian professionals working in the UK on short-term visas could save an estimated ₹4,000 crore annually—a significant it's a positive development, but the markets haven't reacted much yet—possibly because implementation details are still unclear, and the UK Parliament has yet to finalise surprising how auto stocks started moving up mid-week. I was taken aback because the fundamentals are quite weak. Demand is suffering. The only bright spots are tractors and possibly India, there's a divide: urban consumption is still challenged, while rural consumption is relatively strong. So, auto companies that cater to rural markets will do better. Tractor sales are expected to cross 1 million this year—that's a good sign, and we should see better margins for tractor motorcycles—are mostly sold in semi-urban and rural areas (60-70%). They should perform well. Once the harvest season arrives in October, we could see further the rest of the segment is under pressure. We're facing risks from Chinese rare earth exports—EV production has already been cut in July and could halt in August if we don't get essential components like top of that, the Trump tariffs—25% on auto and auto ancillaries—are already in place. Global auto majors like Volvo, Volkswagen, Stellantis, and GM have each estimated earnings hits between $500 million and $1 billion due to these tariffs. So, it's hard to see how smaller Indian players will escape the fallout.I wouldn't bet on the auto segment just yet—unless India secures a carve-out similar to Japan's 15% tariff. If we get that, auto stocks could rally. But as of now, it's a binary and difficult decision. Fundamentals are weak, but news flow could flip the I'd say: start nibbling slowly, but wait till August. Once there's more clarity on India's tariff treatment, especially from the US, we'll have a better sense of direction.


Economic Times
12 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Garena Free Fire Max Redeem Codes for July 26, 2025: Unlock 10+ free rewards now
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