It’s fundamentals-led rally

Corporate balance sheets are very clean now compared to 5 years ago. Most of the corporates have deleveraged their balance sheet and have scope for capacity expansion, said experts

Time To Accumulate:

• Corporate earnings, macros are strong
• Buying opportunity for retail investors

New Delhi: The current spurt in the stock market is on account of strong fundamentals and robust corporate earnings and retail investors can look for buying opportunities to accumulate quality stocks, experts said.

The benchmark Sensex on Monday scaled 76,000 level for the first time, while the Nifty hit a new lifetime peak of 23,110.80. Last week also, the stock market benchmarks Nifty-50 and Sensex touched their respective all-time highs on two occasions. Experts said corporate balance sheets are very clean now compared to 5 years ago. Most of the corporates have deleveraged their balance sheet and have scope for capacity expansion.

“The recent rally in the Indian market is supported by strong domestic macroeconomic fundamentals, like GDP growth, and manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index). Even inflation is also largely stable,” Narendra Solanki, Head Fundamental Research-Investment Services, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers, said.

Wealth management company The Infinity Group, Founder & Director, Vinnaayak Mehta said, “diversifying portfolios, investing in quality stocks with strong fundamentals, and avoiding speculative trading can help mitigate risks. It is crucial to avoid making short-term investments. Instead, focus on long-term investment horizons of at least two to three years.”

The volatility is expected to persist until the final phase of the election on June 1. However, despite these fluctuations, a major correction in the market before the election results is unlikely as the markets have already factored in potential outcomes, he said. Tejas Khoday, co-founder and CEO of trading platform FYERS said with the quarterly earnings season in progress and many companies announcing above-average results, the valuations don’t seem to be too expensive. While few sectors like automotive, realty, capital goods, infrastructure, and consumer discretionary have raced ahead of their fundamentals, banking and financials, FMCG, IT, and chemicals are at reasonable valuations. Investing should align with individual financial goals, capital availability and risk tolerance.

“Retail investors should adopt a long-term perspective, avoid timing the market, and consider Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) and diversified portfolios to mitigate risks and capitalise on opportunities,” Khoday said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex has risen 4 per cent so far this year. The index closed at 75,170 points on Tuesday. The gains in Indian equities have come despite Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) withdrawing capital from the equity markets. FPIs have pulled out over Rs 20,700 crore from equities so far this year.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Chief Economist Upasna Bhardwaj, said: “In this entire cycle, I would say there is no such overheating of stock markets. There are some reasonable fundamental factors which could be supportive of the up move in the equity market.”

Bhardwaj also said that given that there is minimal retail participation in equities, structurally there is a long way to go for retail participation to increase.

“I think there is more scope for equity markets to go higher,” she said. Market experts believe that the composition of the Indian equity index, with higher weightage in sectors such as financials, IT, auto, and FMCG, generally commands higher valuations globally.

This suggests that Indian equities are currently close to fairly valued and that these valuation multiples are likely to be sustained over the medium to longer term, according to Pradeep Gupta, vice chairman, Anand Rathi Group.