Srinivas Rao Ravuri, Chief Investment Officer at Bajaj Life Insurance, favors private banks while being selective about PSU banks. He noted that improving credit growth, benign asset quality, and a likely delayed rate-cut cycle make private banks appealing compared to NBFCs. Ravuri stated that valuations in the private banking sector are at multi-year lows, providing a reasonable margin of safety.
He emphasized a shift away from globalization, advocating for domestic-oriented themes, including consumption and investment-led opportunities. Despite the fluid situation around the Strait of Hormuz, he believes even modest sentiment improvements could push markets to new highs. However, he cautioned that this would be sentiment-driven rather than fundamentally anchored.
Ravuri also mentioned that elevated oil prices could impact FY27 earnings, necessitating a downward calibration of around 5 percent from pre-conflict estimates. He remains constructive on select power equipment players amid ongoing transformations in the power sector.
