ETMarkets Smart Talk: Market valuation key risk! Sampath Reddy is betting on pharma, QSR & financial sectors in FY25

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

“Market valuations would be one of the key risks for Indian markets, which could lead it to give relatively subdued returns in FY25,” says Sampath Reddy, Chief Investment Officer, Bajaj Allianz Life.

In an interview with ETMarkets, Reddy said: “We remain optimistic on the 1) pharmaceutical sector, particularly companies involved in exports of generic medicines on the back of improved pricing environment in the key US market,”. Edited excerpts:

We have closed FY24 with double-digit gains. How do you see markets in FY25?
Sampath Reddy: The Indian equity markets have fared well in FY24 and have been one of the top-performing markets over the medium to long term as well.

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This has been helped by strong macro fundamentals for India, better-than-expected earnings growth, strong institutional flows (both foreign and domestic), and a stable government and policy environment.

However, with the strong outperformance of Indian markets the valuations have also risen above the long-term average and not looking as attractive as before, especially in certain pockets of the market.

Therefore, we expect that equity returns maybe a bit subdued in FY25 compared to FY24, even though the long-term India growth story remains intact.

ETMarkets Smart Talk: We expect