Time To Hone Your Stock-Picking Skills!

Markets tanked this week. I do not think that the current market movement has surprised anyone- at least it did not surprise us. The much-required trigger for the market correction came from the geopolitical situation arising from the ongoing tensions between the US and North Korea, while we were all focused on Indo-China situation in Doklam. The FIIs turned net sellers this week. Now what lies ahead for the markets? We still believe it is difficult for the markets to trade below 31,000 level. We are closer to the near-term support levels and one may see some buying coming into the markets, soon.

In my decades of experience in the market, I have seen this period is usually dull, i.e., the period from the arrival of Ganesh Chaturthi, followed by the Pitrupaksh. There is hardly any enthusiasm in the markets and the lull continues for some time till Dasshera. Post-Dasshera the sentiment improves. So, there do not seem to be any triggers for the markets in the near to medium term. The earnings season can be expected to be better this time around, with minor impact of GST to continue on corporate earnings, especially FMCG ones. The earnings season gone by did not impress us and the street was a little disappointed with the earnings reported.

There seems to be heavy price correction in individual stocks, while the benchmark indices remain relatively steady, thus making the lives of fund managers a little bit challenging. The task any fund manager has in hand is one of the most difficult in times such as now. Beating benchmark returns is indeed becoming a challenge for the community of fund managers. For this very reason, it becomes crucial to select appropriate mutual fund scheme for investing. 

In our cover story, we have recommended top seven equity-oriented open-ended mutual fund schemes that we believe will help investors create wealth in the long run. In spite of widespread awareness among retail investors on mutual fund investing, I think people carry lot of wrong notions on mutual funds. It is high time investors start looking at mutual fund investing strategically and follow the best investment practices, while not falling prey to the myths that may damage their portfolio returns. I am sure you will enjoy reading the cover story and discover the top investible schemes as much as you may enjoy the special story which is also related to mutual funds but focuses on international mutual funds that one can invest in. 

Another interesting special story in this issue speaks on the importance of balancing your portfolio with high quality dividend yield stocks in the FMCG sector. We have presented couple of stock ideas which you may include in your diversified portfolio. Infosys is the talk of the town and we thought we will share our views on the counter in our ‘Analysis’ column. The company does look to be faced with impending issues on corporate governance and we do not know the complete picture, except that there are some governance issues and a leadership crisis. Bringing back Nanden Nilekani, people say, is the best option, but it looks to me as if it was the only option for Infosys. Based on the latest details available with us, we have analysed the stock. Hope you find the inputs useful. 

Coming back to our favourite topic on market movements, I would suggest investors to use the lull in the market to research more on your stock ideas and start honing your stock picking skills as they may be useful when markets start showing some price correction. In case you do not have much time at your disposable, do not worry! We will always be your most reliable option when it comes to identifying right scrips for you and equipping you with the right data for your study. 

Happy Investing!!

V B PADODE
Editor-in-Chief