Budget 2025: Saurabh Mukherjea Bets On HDFC Bank Among Quality Bank Stocks And Export-Oriented Sectors

As India heads toward the Union Budget 2025, market expert Saurabh Mukherjea highlights several key areas poised for growth, from export-oriented sectors to companies catering to lower-income groups.

In his analysis, the chief investment officer at Marcellus Investment Managers Pvt. underscores the importance of focusing on broader economic shifts rather than individual stock picks, while also cautioning about sectors that may struggle due to government spending constraints.

One of the standout sectors is exports, Mukherjea told NDTV Profit. With the US economy performing well and the Indian rupee weakening, export-oriented sectors like IT and pharma are benefiting, and Mukherjea expects this trend to continue. Both sectors, supported by robust global demand and a favourable exchange rate, are well-positioned for the coming years.

Another area to watch, Mukherjea suggests, is the consumer segment of people earning less than Rs 5 lakh annually. As political parties, both at the state and central levels, focus on appeasing lower-income groups to secure votes, there could be increased government spending aimed at this demographic. Companies catering to this income segment are likely to see growth in the next two to three years.

Mukherjea also highlights high-quality banks as an area of interest. With the economy slowing down, non-performing assets are rising, and liquidity is tightening.

However, well-managed banks, which have been underperforming in recent years, are likely to perform better as the economic landscape shifts. Mukherjea singles out HDFC Bank Ltd. as an perpetual coffee can investing for him. Despite being underwhelming over the past few years, HDFC Bank is well-positioned to benefit from the current economic environment he said.

When asked about sectors like infrastructure and defense sectors, Mukherjea expressed skepticism, pointing out that given the government’s financial constraints, it’s hard to be bullish on sectors relying heavily on government spending.