'Great Time To Buy Indian Stocks,' Says Analyst Who Foresaw 2008 Crash

Despite the slump in 2025 so far, the Indian equity market remains one of the most attractive across the world, according to Jim Walker, chief economist at Aletheia Capital who was one of the analysts to foresee the 2008 global market crisis.

"It is a great time to buy stocks in India for the next three, five or 10 years," Walker said in an interview with NDTV Profit on Thursday. The Indian stock market has "the best profit cycle" in Asia, he added.

Walker's comments come amid the steep correction seen by Indian indices, with the benchmark NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex still down by around 12% from the September peaks.

The analyst said the recent correction would not turn away investors from the Indian market, given the country's strong economic outlook. "Apart from Vietnam, no other country in the region looks as good as India," he said, adding that this was one of the reasons behind the confidence shown by domestic and international investors in Indian stocks.

The macroeconomic policy outlook for India is stable and from a policy-point of view, India has not looked "better than this in the last 35 years", according to Walker.

He lauded the Indian government for taking steps towards deregulation and promoting ease of doing business. The improved economic outlook, which will also contribute to higher corporate earnings, allows India to be one of the best emerging markets, he added.

The large size of the domestic economy is one of the reasons behind India and China remaining under investors' focus. An investor frenzy to rush towards China's stock market is unlikely to be seen despite the robust returns in 2025 so far, Walker pointed out

"I don't expect a massive rush for exposure to China.... It takes around six months of outperformance for fund managers to raise their exposure," he said.

Rate Cuts To Boost Indian Stocks

Walker is of the view that further interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India will augur well for the country's equity market. The monetary policy has been "well managed" in India and the inflation outlook is better than the United States, he said.

"There is plenty of scope for rate cuts to come to India," he said. "In our view, another 75–100 basis points of rate cuts are coming."

Stressing upon the possible reduction in India's benchmark lending rates, Walker said he would view the country's financial sector favourably over the next year.

For now, Walker's top sectoral picks are capital goods, consumer staples and consumer durables.

Walker's bullish views on India come days after Marc Faber, the editor of Gloom, Boom & Doom report, told NDTV Profit that Indian retail investors should get out once the markets rebound.