Maheshwari: Markets Corrected, Start Accumulating
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- Nischal Maheshwari pointed out this is the third consecutive April (2024, 2025, 2026) with markets at similar levels despite 10–12% cumulative earnings growth, arguing the valuation correction is largely complete and much of the downside is priced in.
- Maheshwari recommended deploying only 10–15% of capital at current levels and adding on further declines, noting valuations at roughly 17–18x FY27 earnings look reasonable even if FY26-to-FY27 earnings remain flat.
- Private sector banking stocks are his highest-conviction sector, trading at valuations not seen in four to five years while posting 12–15% earnings growth, strong capital positions, and stable asset quality — weakness he pinned on sustained FII selling.
- IT stocks offer a tactical 10–15% upside over the next three months, but he framed it strictly as a short-term trade, not a long-term allocation.
- On stock-specific picks, InterGlobe Aviation and Mahindra & Mahindra are his preferred buys, while he told investors to avoid high-valuation names and treat recent retail-sector weakness as a hold-not-buy signal.
- Pharma warrants a wait-and-watch approach over possible tariff disruptions from former U.S. President Donald Trump, and PSU banks — now trading near private-peer multiples — are a short-term trade at best, not a long-term bet.
Why it matters: Domestic investors face a specific window: FII selling has pushed fundamentally healthy private bank stocks to four-to-five-year low valuations despite 12–15% earnings growth, creating a rare disconnect between price and fundamentals. Maheshwari's framework gives retail capital a concrete deployment rule — 10–15% now, add on dips — rather than a guess at timing the bottom.
