Interim Budget 2024 could have pleasant surprises for market: DP Singh of SBI MF

livemint.com:

₹8.51 trillion, in a freewheeling chat with Mint's Ram Sahgal. Edited excerpts: As of now, the market is supported by strong fundamental, macroeconomic, and supply-demand factors, with any potential headwinds likely stemming from global issues, be it geopolitical or macroeconomic shifts, such as a slowdown in the US. From an earnings perspective, we will see decent growth in fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25), but the pace will be slow when compared FY24, which was a normal year post the pandemic shock .

So it will be growth on a high base, but not as spectacular. The market is expected to move sideways, showing an upward bias amid volatility. The interim Budget might inject some positivity, especially with potential easing of personal income tax thresholds to boost consumption, and a capex push from the full Budget in July, which could have a multiplier effect on the economy.

However, we should anticipate some volatility as we approach the elections. It's going to be a period of selective stock picking across large-caps, mid-caps, and small-caps, including banking, IT, and PSUs. The focus will be on adapting the portfolio weightings of major players based on their earnings and overall performance.

I will not get into specific names but when NIMs compress in a highly competitive environment, to get them up to speed is a challenge. There are challenges faced by others as well who are in a cyclical business where weights might have to be tweaked in light of the earnings and overall performance . That would obviously reflect in the way a fund manager takes a call on deploying funds .