Market Interviews

Elevated oil prices and prolonged West Asia crisis may hit earnings, but staggered investing offers opportunity for long-term investors, says Nippon MF CIO

Selective IT services companies with strong digital portfolios, diversified clients, and disciplined cost structures could indeed present a contrarian opportunity, he said.

For FII's, the favored markets over last two years have been countries that were beneficiaries of new age tech and artificial intelligence (AI), he said.

As markets navigate geopolitical uncertainty, investors are recalibrating their strategies. Harshad Patil, CIO at Tata AIA Life, outlines how he is positioning portfolios amid the Iran conflict

With deep digital penetration and a young, tech-savvy population, India, Seker believes, is a market unmatched globally for meaningful blockchain adoption and innovation

Lunawat says the current phase could reset valuations without derailing long-term capital formation

Retail investors remain resilient amid Iran war volatility, shifting towards index investing, diversification, and long-term strategies, says smallcase CEO.

Given that the last 18 months have been weak in terms of valuations, earnings and technical trends, the outlook for the next 18 months is becoming attractive, he said.

Despite the month-on-month (M-o-M) dip, inflow remains substantial, accounting for 54 per cent of all ETF flows in February: Siddharth Srivastava

Personally, as an experienced investor, I would allocate more to mid, small-caps; if India grows faster than the world, these companies should grow faster too, said Kailash Kulkarni, CEO, HSBC MF.

Utsav Verma of Choice Institutional Equities said that long-term investors should deploy funds in a staggered manner in sectors with stronger earnings visibility

Market volatility from the West Asia conflict may keep equities in risk-off mode, but a sharp downgrade to India Inc's earnings would require sustained oil shock, says Dhiraj Relli of HDFC Securitie

Strategy for 2026, he said, is shifting toward sectors with a probable growth visibility such as Banking, Consumer, Resources and Manufacturing.

Sunaina Da Cunha, Co-CIO (Debt) at Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, said that the geopolitical situation in West Asia is likely to continue injecting volatility into the currency markets

In India, equities are often a long-term wealth creation product and flows typically normalise once volatility stabilises, Upadhyaya said.

Oil prices, Rogers said, could definitely cross $100 a barrel again, especially if the geopolitical developments continue.

Agarwal outlines why the next cycle will reward quality over quantity and which sectors are best placed to attract capital

AI adoption is reshaping cost structures, leading to shorter project timelines and thereby layoffs in low-skill roles, said Geojit's Vinod Nair

Q3FY26 marked a good cyclical improvement in growth, though it may need one or two quarters to call it a decisive earnings inflection, said Vora

Sunny Agarwal of SBI Securities said that going ahead, the financial services sector will lead, which includes banks, both public sector (PSU) and private