Earnings need to pick up for market rally to sustain: Harshad Patwardhan

Interview with Harshad Patwardhan, chief investment officer-equities at Edelweiss Asset Management

Earnings growth over the next two years for S&P BSE Sensex / Nifty50 universe is expected to be in the region of mid-to-high teens, based on consensus estimates, HARSHAD PATWARDHAN, chief investment officer for equities at Edelweiss Asset Management tells Puneet Wadhwa in an interview. Edited excerpts:

Are the markets fully valued at this stage? Can investors still dabble in equities given the sharp run-up seen thus far in calendar year 2017 (CY17)?

Indian equity market has seen a very strong start to the year 2017. Valuations on a 12-month forward basis are now at around 17.3x earnings, or about one standard