Rural-focused stocks to gain on the expectation of normal monsoon

Govt measures to boost farm incomes will benefit automobile, consumer, agri-input firms

Companies that get a sizable share of sales from rural markets could see higher growth on the expectation of a normal monsoon, which has been forecast for this year, as of now.

Two non-government bodies, Skymet and Weather Risk Management Services have said they expect rain in the June to September period to be on the positive side of normal. D K Joshi, chief economist at ratings agency CRISIL, says this initial prediction is a positive but the amount apart, the distribution of rain is also important. More clarity on this is expected in June.

A normal monsoon is expected