The stock markets may have waltzed past the 11,500 mark on Wednesday, but even this latest performance was not enough to impress experts who are still advising caution to the small investor.
Hemen Kapadia, Director of Morpheus Inc, has warned that though retail investors have made a comeback, they should be wary of investing in the markets. “There has certainly been some momentum in the MidCap segment in the last few days, but there are a lot of areas for concern,” Kapadia said.He added that, though crude oil prices have come down, they are still hovering above $73. “Also, the FII (foreign institutional investors) outlook for India is still negative. The only thing positive right now is the long-term outlook. But I cannot stress enough that investors need to be careful,” he told Mumbai Mirror.
Anil Mascarenhas, Editor of IndiaInfoline.com, felt that the markets are at a stage that’s mostly operator-driven. “Retail investors were waiting for the markets to gain some momentum, but we expect some amount of correction at these levels,” he explained, adding that there may be a huge downward swing in case the markets come down.
As a result, Mascarenhas said, investors should be aware of asset allocation. “A certain part should be kept in fixed sources like banks and debt. When the Sensex comes down, then the funds could be transferred to the equity markets. This way, valuations would be more attractive,” Anil said.
Dr V V L N Shastry, Chief Financial Officer of the Firstcall Equity Services, pointed out that the upside of the Sensex’s current level is that it may touch 11900 to 12000 level. “The reason for the upward swing is the anticipation that the US Federal Reserve may not hike interest rates in the near future. But the markets may correct at every level,” he said.
As for Hemen Kapadia, he advises investors to wait for the sub-10,000 level and invest only then. “They have to take a call and book profits at higher levels,” he said.
• “There are a lot of areas for concern” – Hemen Kapadia, Morpheus Inc
