Earnings To Push Markets Higher In 2018!

Earnings To Push Markets Higher In 2018! 

It gives me immense pleasure to announce that we are launching our new mutual fund (MF) magazine. The MF magazine will be on the flip side of your favourite DSIJ magazine and it will also be the India’s first fortnightly MF magazine which will purely focus on equity MF schemes. I am proud to launch such a magazine that is going to change the way people look at selecting equity mutual funds for investments in India. Backed by a strong, experienced and dedicated team of MF researchers, our new MF magazine promises to enlighten and support MF investors who are looking to create wealth in these volatile markets. 

The size of the mutual fund industry is nearly Rs 23 lakh crore and has seen a growth of nearly 26 per cent in FY18 alone. The size of the equity mutual funds is nearly Rs 7.5 lakh crore and the AUM in equity mutual funds increased by 38 per cent YoY. There is visible interest in equity mutual funds amongst investors as they know that MF investing is one of the safest ways to take exposure to equity markets. 

Do note that DSIJ is widening its horizon with the introduction of an additional Mutual Fund journal along with the regular magazine for the benefit of the readers. Our regular magazine content and format will continue as before since pages are being increased for accomodating the new Mutual Fund section. Since it will be our first issue, I will be eager to hear your feedback. Do send us your honest feedback and assist us in understanding your MF investing needs so that we can serve you better. 

Markets to my mind will try to settle down and attempt to remain less volatile in the near future. Sensex is already up by nearly 4 per cent from its recent lows and it promises to inch up further in the near to medium term owing to some expected positive news on the earnings front. I am aware that the increased volatility on a YTD basis has led to a lot of speculation on whether the markets will deliver in 2018 as per investors expectations. In my view, markets should deliver good returns in spite of several headwinds this year and the best part of the markets will be the earnings growth. The earning growth, NPAs bottoming out for banks, increased government spending and improved macroeconomic indicators do make a case for double digit returns in the key benchmark index, i.e Sensex in 2018. 

India has underperformed its emerging market peers lately and there is a good chance that India will catch up with the other emerging economies. I expect emerging markets to remain relatively less volatile going forward and deliver higher returns compared to the developed markets. Even within the emerging market space, India should do better. 

In this issue, we have discussed where the Sensex can go in 2018. I am confident Sensex will cross 38,000 by December 2018. I think the trade war fears are overdone and the slugfest between the US and China is actually a blessing in disguise for long term investors as they may get opportunities to buy shares at cheaper prices. In our special report on dividend stocks, we have shared some interesting aspects of dividend investing. I am sure you will benefit from our findings and you will use these findings to create some wealth for yourself. 

We have also covered tourism sector in our separate special story. The sector is ripe for investments now and you will find out the reasons for this optimism in our detailed report. Don’t miss the recommendation in the sector. 

For investors, no doubt the perceived geopolitical risk is high and there are so many external factors such as trade war that occupy their minds. Smart investors should be able to capitalise on investing opportunities in 2018 as the volatile market environment does provide scope for the same. Focus on the stocks of private banks and companies in infrastructure, cement, select metals and even real estate business as this is where the action will be. Not to ignore stocks that are dependant on consumption theme in India. Consumption related stocks should also do well. 

Focus on value in stocks rather than prices alone - Happy Investing !