Overweight on IT, pharma, auto components; have added some FMCG stocks: Devina Mehra
Devina Mehra, Founder & CMD, First Global, says this time it has been coincidental that the FIIs have pulled out money and the markets have fallen. But over a period of time, data show that the unsaid assumption that if FIIs come in, the market goes up; FIIs pull out, and the market goes down, does not hold any more. In any case, the end of the US outperformance US is coming closer.
Mehra also says that they are overweight on IT, pharma, and auto components and have selectively added some FMCG and chemical stocks.
I am taking a look at your portfolio and two names are standing out to me. ITC and AkzoNobel are looking interesting right now among your top 10 holdings. Is this how you would prefer to play the consumption space going ahead also because we are hearing positive commentary coming in from pure play FMCG players? Do you believe recovery is underway and is good enough now for you to revisit? Do you believe that when the recovery in consumption does come through, FMCG players will lead from the front or will it be broader consumption names like paints, retail, footwear, fashion?
Devina Mehra: First of all, suddenly there has been a lot of hand wringing on consumption, in the last four-five months when the market started correcting. But I had been talking about it a lot longer simply because the consumption actually slowed down in ‘23-24. The ‘23-24 private consumption number in the GDP was at a 21-year low. It was around 4%. This year, it is expected to be 7.5% or so. So, there was never really a slowdown
