Market veteran Atul Suri expects Indian equities to deliver nearly 30% upside over the next 12 to 18 months, with the Nifty targeting 30,800 during this period. Speaking at the NDTV Profit Townhall, Suri believes the worst phase for the market is now behind us and does not anticipate "a big price damage" in the Indian market. He emphasized that those who can withstand time will be rewarded, despite current momentum not being in the market's favor. SBI Securities' MD and CEO Baldev Prakash shares a similar optimistic outlook, stating that Nifty 50 may rise to a new high by the end of 2026, backed by double-digit earnings growth and strong domestic flows.
Indian benchmark indices extended their losing streak to a fifth consecutive session on Friday, with the NSE Nifty 50 declining as much as 0.9% to 23,646 and the BSE Sensex dropping 778 points, or 1%, to 75,613.43 in early trade. According to latest reports, investors saw nearly ₹3.5 lakh crore wiped off their wealth within minutes of Friday's opening trade. The selloff mirrored weakness across Asian markets, where Japan's Nikkei 225 tumbled 2.46%, South Korea's Kospi fell 3.04%, and Australia's ASX 200 lost 0.57%. Brent crude climbed above $100 a barrel, raising fears that higher fuel costs could reignite inflation and force central banks to keep interest rates elevated for longer.
Suri noted that global money is currently moving towards the AI trade, which has contributed to India's premium of the past decade eroding over the last two years. As reported by NDTV Profit, he acknowledged that India is in a "painful spot," particularly with respect to the currency, but stressed that he does not believe the Indian market is in a crisis. He expects the narrative around Indian equities to change once the global AI trade cools off. Prakash from SBI Securities confirms that while India doesn't have direct AI-related plays, Indian corporates will emerge as one of the fastest adopters of AI globally, with IT companies bundling traditional services with AI-led offerings for cost reduction and productivity improvement.
According to Suri's latest analysis, metals and pharma are among the best-performing sectors currently, while IT and FMCG have been the worst-hit. He also pointed out that the Nifty Next 50 has outperformed the Nifty 50 by almost 10%. On sectors, Suri expressed strong bullishness on metals and industrials, seeing a super-cycle in the industrials theme while noting that metals are moving out of decades of consolidation. He also remained positive on companies supplying data centres, expecting the segment to see the largest capital expenditure over the next two years.
