Should you buy defence or banking stocks now? Kranthi Bathini's sectoral outlook explained
ADVERTISEMENT 'Despite the tight trading range, the market mood remains optimistic. However, global uncertainties, especially around trade deals involving the US, Japan, and China, have kept both foreign and domestic institutional investors in a wait-and-watch mode,' he said.
President Trump's recent comments on being 'frustrated' with Japanese trade negotiations also caused jitters across Asian markets. Additionally, the upcoming earnings season and global cues are contributing to the market's cautious tone.
When asked about sectors likely to perform well over the next few months, Bathini pointed to defence, consumption, and financials.'The recent Rs 1 lakh crore procurement cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council has created momentum. Stocks in the defence index, across large and midcaps, are already outperforming,' said Bathini.He sees strong order book visibility and earnings potential, especially in sub-segments like drones, aviation, and fighter aircraft. Both PSU and private players look promising for long-term investors, especially on dips.
ADVERTISEMENT
With a robust monsoon and potential GST cuts, both rural and urban consumption themes look positive. However, Bathini notes a divergence is emerging with regional players gaining ground, which may not yet be fully reflected in listed stocks.
Bathini believes banking and NBFCs, both public and private, are attractive, especially for long-term investors.
ADVERTISEMENT
'With a recent rate cut and likely further easing, liquidity is improving. This supports credit growth, which is essential for infrastructure, capex expansion, and overall economic momentum,' he explained.He sees potential across largecaps and midcaps, depending on investor's risk appetite and time horizon.
ADVERTISEMENT Bathini remains neutral to cautious on IT and pharma in the short to medium term due to their dependence on global trends and the ongoing trade deal uncertainties.'Both sectors are heavily linked to US growth. That's a concern right now. But within IT, emerging domestic sub-themes like data centres could be interesting,' he added.For long-term investors (3+ years), Bathini sees merit in accumulating largecap IT stocks on dips, as they're trading near long-term average valuations.
ADVERTISEMENT
India's defence sector is not just focused inwards anymore. 'With ₹25,000 crore in export targets this year and growing diplomatic ties with African nations, Indian defence manufacturing could soon find strong international demand,' Bathini noted.India's cost-efficiency compared to Western nations makes it attractive for defence outsourcing in the future.
Looking ahead, Bathini expects volatility around the India-US trade deal, but remains optimistic. 'As long as Nifty holds 25,300, we're in a good spot. If the earnings season begins on a strong note, we could see the index moving toward 25,750–25,780. A decisive breakout above that range could trigger further upside.'
Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts/brokerages do not represent the views of the Economic Times
(You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
28 minutes ago
- Time of India
Sebi Plans to Heighten Derivatives Surveillance
Live Events The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is planning to enhance its surveillance system to check manipulation in the derivatives market, chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Monday. This follows the regulator barring US-based proprietary trader Jane Street from the securities market for allegedly generating illegal profits by manipulating indices through large derivatives positions.'This (Jane Street case) is essentially a surveillance issue,' Pandey said on the sidelines of an event. 'Surveillance mechanisms will be upgraded further to strengthen oversight.' He added that monitoring will continue at Sebi's as well as stock exchange levels.'Manipulative practices can be worked out by different players in different ways,' Pandey said. 'There is no one particular way in which you have to assess. Our regulations clearly mention that manipulative and fraudulent practices are not allowed in the market, and within the regulations, Sebi has all powers to investigate and act.'The chairman appeared to be of the view that such practices aren't widespread. 'There may not be many more such cases,' he said in response to a question on whether other funds may have manipulated the markets in a similar week, Sebi ordered the seizure of what it said were 'illegal gains' made by Jane Street to the tune of Rs 4,844 crore ($570 million) in one of the toughest punitive actions against an international trader. It's likely the largest amount thus impounded by the entities tied to Jane Street Group — JSI Investments, JSI2 Investments, Jane Street Singapore and Jane Street Asia Trading — have been prohibited from dealing in securities, directly or Street, which started its India operations in 2020, made a profit of about $4.3 billion between January 2023 and March 2025, the period under review, on its India regulator's finding is that the NSE's Bank Nifty Index — comprising stocks of India's top dozen lenders — was manipulated in a complex and illegal manner aided by JS Group's immense trading, financial and algorithmic Street would drive up prices with heavy buying in the morning and send them down through a selling spree later in the day, according to Sebi. It also sought to push index levels down with heavy sell orders close to the option expiry, the regulator found that Bank Nifty options alone contributed Rs 17,319 crore, amounting to 40% of the total index option's profits.
Time of India
30 minutes ago
- Time of India
Pune witnesses significant boost in office leasing
1 2 3 Pune: The office leasing market in Pune experienced a notable surge in the first half of 2025, continuing with the trend observed in 2024. This increase was primarily fuelled by Global Capability Centers (GCCs), which are the Indian technology hubs of multinational corporations, as they aggressively expanded their operations. The GCCs secured a larger proportion of available office spaces in the city during the initial six months of the year, with a particularly strong increase in activity during the April-June quarter. Reports indicate that the total office spaces leased in Pune from Jan to June 2025 ranged from 38 lakh sqft to 51 lakh sqft. Data from real estate consulting firm CBRE South Asia highlights that nearly 30 lakh sqft of commercial space was leased in Q2 2025 alone. Out of this, an impressive 15 lakh sqft was leased by the GCCs — a substantial jump compared to the 2.5 lakh sqft they rented in the first three months of 2025. You Can Also Check: Pune AQI | Weather in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune "India's office market has not only sustained, but accelerated the momentum built in 2024, propelled by the expansion of GCCs, the resurgence of third-party IT service providers, and the growing demand for flexible workspaces," Shishir Baijal, CMD of Knight Frank India, said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Peush Jain, MD of commercial leasing at Anarock, said the leasing activity of GCCs in India increased amid the ongoing policy chaos in the US. However, new additions to office spaces also suddenly increased between Jan and June as some planned projects in Kharadi were completed recently. Office completions stood at 88 lakh sqft — a 264% increase. Although it led to a corresponding rise in vacant offices, commercial rentals increased by 3% to Rs77 per sqft, indicating that corporations are willing to pay for quality and flexibility, as per a Knight Frank India report. Flex operators maintained their demand in office leasing, led by large block deals across Kharadi, Mundhwa, Balewadi, and Wakad. Pune: The office leasing market in Pune experienced a notable surge in the first half of 2025, continuing with the trend observed in 2024. This increase was primarily fuelled by Global Capability Centers (GCCs), which are the Indian technology hubs of multinational corporations, as they aggressively expanded their operations. The GCCs secured a larger proportion of available office spaces in the city during the initial six months of the year, with a particularly strong increase in activity during the April-June quarter. Reports indicate that the total office spaces leased in Pune from Jan to June 2025 ranged from 38 lakh sqft to 51 lakh sqft. Data from real estate consulting firm CBRE South Asia highlights that nearly 30 lakh sqft of commercial space was leased in Q2 2025 alone. Out of this, an impressive 15 lakh sqft was leased by the GCCs — a substantial jump compared to the 2.5 lakh sqft they rented in the first three months of 2025. "India's office market has not only sustained, but accelerated the momentum built in 2024, propelled by the expansion of GCCs, the resurgence of third-party IT service providers, and the growing demand for flexible workspaces," Shishir Baijal, CMD of Knight Frank India, said. Peush Jain, MD of commercial leasing at Anarock, said the leasing activity of GCCs in India increased amid the ongoing policy chaos in the US. However, new additions to office spaces also suddenly increased between Jan and June as some planned projects in Kharadi were completed recently. Office completions stood at 88 lakh sqft — a 264% increase. Although it led to a corresponding rise in vacant offices, commercial rentals increased by 3% to Rs77 per sqft, indicating that corporations are willing to pay for quality and flexibility, as per a Knight Frank India report. Flex operators maintained their demand in office leasing, led by large block deals across Kharadi, Mundhwa, Balewadi, and Wakad.
Time of India
32 minutes ago
- Time of India
Improved consumption trends bring cheer to FMCG counters
Mumbai: Shares of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms advanced Monday after Godrej Consumer's quarterly business update pointed to improved demand prospects. Godrej is the third company after Dabur and Marico to signal a stronger-than-expected growth outlook, but some analysts warn against painting these performances as an industry-wide trend. "A sequential improvement in volume growth and revenue growth indicated by Godrej Consumer Products , Dabur and Marico led to renewed investor sentiment," said Ajay Thakur, research analyst - FMCG, Anand Rathi Institutional Equities. "A good monsoon is seen propping up rural demand and an uptick in urban demand also supports sentiment." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo The Nifty FMCG Index gained 1.7% on Monday, while the benchmark Nifty remained flat. Of the 15 stocks on the FMCG Index, 13 advanced and two declined. Agencies Godrej Consumer jumped 6.4%, leading the gains in FMCG stocks. Dabur gained 3.5%, while HUL and Emami rose over 2.5% each. Britannia Industries climbed 2.1%, and Varun Beverages and Tata Consumer advanced 1.7% and 1.5%, respectively. While the pickup in volumes is expected to stronger in the second half of FY26, gains might be limited to stocks that offer better growth prospects. "The positive guidance was largely for Godrej Consumer and Marico but since the FMCG stocks have been beaten down, the other stocks also rose in hopes of a recovery," said Amit Purohit, VP, Elara Capital. "Although second half is anticipated to be better, Q1 is expected to be muted." Live Events Godrej Consumer Products said in its quarterly update that the volume growth is improving from the previous quarter, and the company expects double-digit rupee revenue growth on the back of high single-digit volume growth. Dabur's growth guidance is softer than that of Godrej, but investors were expecting far worse. "There were expectations of flat to declining growth in Dabur, but the company expects low single-digit growth, which might be perceived optimistically in the otherwise lacklustre quarterly update," said Purohit. So far this year, the Nifty FMCG Index has declined 2%, while the benchmark Nifty has gained 7.7% in the same period. Thakur said he prefers Godrej Consumer among large cap FMCG stocks, while Dabur's valuations are attractive. Purohit said investors should focus on specific stocks in the sector based on their reported growth. "Godrej Consumer Products and Marico are clear standouts and as the market rewards growth, gains are likely in these stocks," said Purohit. "Other stocks may move up as the narrative around the government focus on consumption, good monsoon, and base effect to play out."
