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"Longer term I continue to maintain that we are not completely out of the woods. There are some headwinds. It is going to be a tough market if you look at 12 to 24 months point of view," says Dhiraj Agarwal, MD, Ambit Investment Managers.What do you make of the market mood? Is worst of the fall behind us?Dhiraj Agarwal: In the absolute near term we may possibly see a bounce. Markets have been falling for like six months in a row which has never happened before. Last time we saw five consecutive down months was perhaps mid or late 90s, 97 or 98, somewhere at that period of time. So, a short-term respite maybe around the corner looking at the market breadth in the last couple of days and the behaviour of mid and small indices which has started to lead Nifty at least in this month, in the last four or five trading days, is obviously an encouraging sign for a near-term bottoming process. Longer term I continue to maintain that we are not completely out of the woods. There are some headwinds. It is going to be a tough market if you look at 12 to 24 months point of view. You think earnings have bottomed out and if they have bottomed out, do you think it is a matter of time markets will start realising that?Dhiraj Agarwal: Have the earnings bottomed out or not is a big question mark. I mean, will the earnings deteriorate from here? Perhaps not. But next two years are we looking at market earnings growth of 8% to 10% versus going back to 12% to 15% is a big ask at this point of time. So, I am more in the camp that India is seeing a little bit of a cyclical consolidation within a long-term structural uptrend and the cyclical consolidation may result in moderate earnings growth for the next year or two, and a very-very tough up and down volatile kind of a market. Maybe not too much of downside from here, but does it go back roaring up back to the new highs or not is a huge question mark. I do not think so, honestly. Let us probe that a little bit and for the benefit of our viewers, because you are of the belief that there will be that polarisation in earnings and stock price performance and that is going to only continue to rise. Explain that for us and what would it really mean for stock prices eventually and the kind of return expectations one needs to have for the remainder of the year?Dhiraj Agarwal: If you see the history of Indian markets in the last 30 years, it literally moves in a 5-3-5 cycle. So, five years of runaway bull market followed by three years of consolidation and five years of runaway bull market followed by three years of consolidation. So, during the five years or four or five years of one-way bull run, there is depolarisation or the concentration reduces or the market breadth increases in simple terms. Larger section of the market tend to move up and move up very-very strongly and then it is followed by two to three tough years where the polarisation in the market increases. If you see last one year, even the earnings are getting polarised. I mean, till two or three quarters ago, a large segment, 70% to 80% of the segment of the market was able to grow earnings at 15% plus. But in the last two years, that ratio is continuously coming down. Think about 2010 to 13 or 2018 to 20 where only 15% to 20% of the stocks actually give you meaningful positive returns. So, there will be positive returns, there will be alpha to find. It will be a little bit more difficult to locate them and one will have to focus on numbers a little harder, that is what we mean by polarisation.In this particular market, quite an interesting take what you shared with respect to polarisation, but what should be the best strategy to adopt at this point in time because Indian markets have of course seen the great run-up in the couple of years back then. But now, if we are in for some bit of a consolidation, what strategy should one adopt?Dhiraj Agarwal: It is bottom-up, neither sectoral nor thematic strategy will work. So, it is bottom-up stock picking with a huge amount of focus on valuation. So, something that we had sort of forgotten or had started ignoring, I would say, in the last few years. But the current stock price moves and the market moves is very clearly giving us a message that we just do not want to see earnings growth, but we also want to see a very sharp, razor-eye focus on valuations also in the current market environment. So, even within a sector, we will see dispersion and it is already happening. In the last six months, we can see, for example, in banking, Kotak Bank is up 10% whereas IndusInd Bank is down 30%, both private sector banks. BOB is down about 15%. In IT, we can say Coforge up 20% or LTIMindtree down 20%, both second-line IT names and this kind of phenomena will happen more and more going forward in the market. And hence, more than sectors or themes, individual stock picking, sharp focus on numbers with razor-sharp eye valuations as well. Ignoring valuations and just look at earnings will not work.

LIC Housing Finance shares jumped 2.2% in early trade to their day’s high of Rs 532.55 on the BSE on Thursday after the company’s board approved a borrowing plan of Rs 1.23 lakh crore for FY26 through loans, bond issuances, and other instruments.The board, based on the audit committee’s recommendation, approved a total borrowing budget of Rs 1,22,500 crore for the next financial year, the company said in a stock exchange filing.The borrowing will be executed via loans and/or the issuance of redeemable non-convertible debentures, zero-coupon bonds, subordinate debt, upper Tier II bonds, commercial paper, external commercial borrowings, foreign currency bonds, securitization via private placement, public issues, and refinancing from NHB, among other modes.Also Read: Stocks in news: Wipro, IRFC, TCS, Zydus Life, LIC HousingLIC Housing Finance Q3 earningsThe company reported a net profit of Rs 1,432 crore in Q3, a 23.1% increase from Rs 1,163 crore in the same period last year.However, NII came in at Rs 1,997.1 crore, marking a decline of 4.8% from Rs 2,097 crore in Q3 FY24. The company reported a write-back of Rs 43.98 crore, compared to an impairment expense of Rs 435.83 crore in the year-ago period.Also Read: Chip is the new oil! Jefferies expects India to quadruple electronics production to Rs 500 billion by 2030—Key stocks to watchLIC Housing Finance shares target priceAs per Trendlyne data, the average target price of the stock is Rs 717, which shows an upside of 38% from the current market prices. The consensus recommendation from 25 analysts for the stock is a 'Buy'.LIC Housing Finance shares performanceOn Wednesday, LIC Housing Finance shares closed at Rs 521.2, up 3.5% on the BSE, while the benchmark Sensex surged 1%. The stock has declined 26% in the last six months but gained 45% in the last two years. The company’s market capitalization stands at Rs 28,669 crore.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)

Benchmark BSE Sensex surged by 740 points while Nifty snapped its 10-day losing streak on Wednesday following value buying in utilities and power shares and a strong trend in global markets.Stocks that were in focus include names like Quadrant Future Tek, which spiked 18% and Varun Beverages, which declined 0.3% and Coforge, whose shares gained 8% on Wednesday.Here's what Riyank Arora, Technical Analyst at Mehta Equities, recommends investors should do with these stocks when the market resumes trading today.Quadrant Future TekQuad Future Tek is trading with strong momentum, with resistance at 550 and support at 475. The stock has been witnessing sustained buying interest, and RSI (14) at 53 indicates continued strength.The momentum suggests a positive bias, and as long as the support holds, the trend is likely to remain intact.Varun BeveragesVBL has shown a strong breakout above the 460 resistance level, indicating bullish momentum. The stock is now approaching resistance at 501, with support at 450 serving as a crucial level.With RSI (14) at 42, the stock maintains a positive outlook, and further upside could be seen if it sustains above key levels.CoforgeCoforge has successfully broken out above the 7715 mark, signaling potential upside toward 8100 and 8300 levels. The stock is witnessing a momentum surge, supported by RSI (14) at 47, reflecting an uptick in buying strength.With strong technical indicators, Coforge remains well-positioned for further gains in the near term.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

Ratan Tata's legacy will be celebrated with a special Jewel of India award to be conferred posthumously on the Tata Group patriarch at the 25th edition of the ET Awards for Corporate Excellence.The award is a recognition of the clarity of Tata's vision, sharpness of execution, breadth of impact, and the radiance of his personality, all of which has left an indelible mark on the country and its economy. In a first, the ET Awards jury headed by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani unanimously called for a special award to be bestowed on him posthumously in recognition of his contribution to the cause of Indian business. 118743081 The jury members had suggested the name of the award, noting that there was no better way to describe him other than as the Jewel of India. Tata passed away in October last year, aged 86. His key role in helping to nurture and develop India's industry, preparing it for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century, and taking it global through marquee acquisitions and investments were all noted by the jury.