Samvat 2082: Stock Market Gurus Share Investment Strategy Amid Rising Volatility

Samvat 2081 wasn't perhaps the easiest of years and left a lot to be desired, as far as Indian markets are concerned. However, as we gear up for Samvat 2082, stock market gurus are confident that growth will soon pick up, which in turn, will resonate into higher returns in the domestic stock market.

NDTV Profit spoke to a series of market veterans heading into Samvat 2082, who offered their near-term outlook, sectoral trends and thoughts on the re-emerging IPO frenzy, among other things.

As markets continue to deal with global volatility and an ongoing tariff war, market gurus believe sticking to core investment principles such as patience and time in the market could go a long way in giving stable returns.

The key consensus for Samvat 2082 is not to make any rash decisions. "The stock market will always remain uncertain by nature. Sitting tight and doing nothing is the best way to accumulate wealth," Ridham Desai of Morgan Stanley told NDTV Profit, as he advocated for patience over panic.

He added that the consolidation period over the last year or so has made Indian valuations the most attractive they have ever been in the last 25 years.

Building on this theme, Raamdeo Agrawal, Chairman of Motilal Oswal Financial Services, advised retail investors not to fall into the trap of any emerging market trap and only invest in stocks you truly understand.

"Only invest in stocks that you truly understand in order to maximise gains. A portfolio doesn't usually require more than 15-20 well-researched stocks," he said.

Since the start of the year, there has been a proliferation of initial public offerings, flooding the Indian stock market.

It was a trend that was all too familiar in recent years, but had died down due to a period of correction and lowering of market sentiment.

But it has picked up in a big fashion in this calendar year, with companies like LG Electronics, Tata Capital, NSDL, Urban Company and HDB Financial Services notably getting listed.

However, Sunil Singhania, founder of Abakkus Asset Manager LLP, issued a stark warning to retain investors looking to invest in these IPOs, predicting that 75% of them are going to trade below their listing price within six months.

"The pricing of IPOs leaves nothing on the table for retail investors. My view is that around 75% of the companies coming out with IPOs will trade below their issue price in the next six months," he said.

Veteran investor Vijay Kedia had a more humorous take on the recent IPO frenzy, stating that "at current rate, even panwalas will come out with IPOs tomorrow."

Kedia added that the ongoing fervour over IPOs is nothing short of 'pagalpan'.

What's investment advice without a little bit of analogy?

Edelweiss Financial Services' Trideep Bhattacharya and Harsha Upadhyaya, CIO of Equity at Kotak Mahindra AMC, tried to decode the Indian stock market by comparing stocks and sectors to mithais and patakas.

Trideep, for his part, believes government capex plays like defence and railways as 'sparklers', which could bring positive surprises.

He termed fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) as 'sutli bombs', as they are stocks with low-voltage explosions. Trideep, though, believes consumer discretionary stocks could be 'rockets' in the market over the next 12-18 months.

Harsha, meanwhile, described banking stocks as the 'Kaju Katli' of the market - everyone's favourite and a Diwali essential.

He likened IT services to a "jalebi," due to the ongoing volatility and twisted outlook going forward.

Looking ahead, Dinshaw Irani, CEO of Helios Capital, said he expects mid to high single-digit growth in Indian markets during the remainder of the calendar year.

"I see mid to single-digit kind of growth for this calendar year. Initially, we had calculated a low double-digit growth, but due to the transitory effect of the GST rate cuts, where everything got delayed, we are now pencilling a mid to high single-digit growth," he said.

Nilesh Shah of Envision Capital goes a step further and said it is time to deploy capital in the markets, which may see double-digit returns in Samvat 2082.

"I won’t be surprised to see double-digit returns over the period of next year," Shah told NDTV Profit. “Expecting robust growth during the second half of Samvat 2082, which is essentially April to September 2026."