Kotak Mahindra AMC’s Shibani Sircar Kurian told CNBC‑TV18 that the recent pullback has made large‑cap and select mid‑cap valuations more attractive, and she sees this as an opportunity to increase equity exposure—yet remains cautious on small‑caps where valuations stay high.
Kurian’s strategy is built on earnings‑centric stock picking; she expects volatility to persist in the near term as the West Asian conflict feeds inflation and macro risk. Market volumes have risen this month, but she says it’s too early to gauge long‑term volume trends.
Looking ahead, she forecasts a robust Q2 earnings season following a solid Q1 performance, with earnings growth likely to be the primary driver of stock performance rather than broad market trends. This shift suggests a bottom‑up approach for active traders.
Sector‑specific commentary highlights banks, industrials, and healthcare as preferred plays. Banks are projected to see earnings improvement into FY28 thanks to balance‑sheet strength and contained credit costs, while capital goods and industrials offer growth opportunities despite valuation cautions.
In discretionary consumption and healthcare, including hospitals, the outlook remains positive. Regulatory uncertainty is a risk, but expected greenfield capacity additions and occupancy growth should support earnings.
On the primary market, Kotak Mahindra AMC continues to evaluate IPOs on individual merits—focusing on business quality, management, earnings prospects, and valuations—rather than treating all offerings the same.
For investors, the takeaway is to use the current market dip as a buying window, taking a neutral to slightly overweight stance on large caps and a slight overweight on mid caps, while staying selective on small caps and primary market deals.