Consumer and financial stocks to lead next bull market: Manulife’s Rana Gupta

The next bull market will be driven by consumer and financial stocks, according to Rana Gupta, Senior Portfolio Manager and India Equity Specialist at Manulife Investment Management. He said the market needs time to stabilise before significant gains, and sectors that led the previous rally—such as industrials and public sector undertakings (PSUs)—may take a backseat this time.“In the last market, we saw remarkable results and stock performance from industrials, public sector undertaking (PSU), and utility companies. That is going to change, and we think that the next bull market or whenever the market resumes, it will be led by mostly consumer and financial stocks. Even within financials, we like the non-banking financials more than most of the banks,” he said.

Gupta also sees long-term opportunities in the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) sector, particularly in ancillary companies. While some EMS stocks have undergone price corrections, he believes they remain attractive investments. He noted that EMS includes firms producing components for electronic devices such as mobile phones, televisions, and air conditioners, and companies investing in machinery for component manufacturing could see strong growth.Also Read: FIIs may return to Indian markets in H2: Manulife’s Charlie Dutton
Gupta is also positive about India’s rural economy, saying that tractor companies and non-banking financial firms offering secured loans are well-positioned for growth.He sees strong growth potential in the cable industry. UltraTech’s entry into this segment is still a few years away, and the market can accommodate a large player like UltraTech without significant disruptions.

In midcaps, Gupta warned investors to be mindful of rising competition from new entrants.

Also Read: Rushing to consumption stocks? Neelkanth Mishra says you may be missing the bigger picture

“So, when we look at midcap stocks, we have to be quite conscious about what kind of competitive threat that they will see going forward because at the end of the day, going forward, that can increase competition and we have to also be very careful about the growth aspiration of the new entrants,” he said.

For the entire interview, watch the accompanying video

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