Long & Short of Markets: ITC revival, pharma headwinds & Shankar Sharma’s contra plays

The market rally that began in April 2020 has been largely secular. The strong yet pleasant tide has helped almost every ship to sail without any hiccups. But now the tides are changing! Market veteran Atul Suri says that we are headed into the second phase of the bull market, the consolidation phase. At this stage, only the strong and performing ships will outrun the laggards with changing currents. Read more on the current bull market’s outlook, revival in share price, pharma stocks’ headwinds, Shankar Sharma’s contrarian play and much more in this week’s edition of ‘Long & Short of Markets’.

Why are bulls going to run longer this time?
Dalal Street veteran Atul Suri says this bull run has lots of steam left. Analysing the previous two market crashes, the fund manager said, towards the end of past two bull markets, the market rally narrowed. This time that is not the case, he opines. READ MORE

Overhangs over pharma stocks
After a stellar near 16-month rally, pharma stocks are likely to face headwinds for the first time in this bull run, and it’s coming from the US this time. Indian pharma companies focused on the US market are already gearing up to face these old problems which have returned to haunt the sector. READ MORE

How to wake up D-St’s Kumbhkaran?
When will ITC stock come out of it’s hibernation? This is a question no market experts on Dalal Street or elsewhere have got their answers right. Market expert Sandip Sabharwal dismisses the idea that demerger of ITC’s hotel biz may be the answer, as the business may not be able to support itself, he opines. But he advises a rather old school method to boost the share price. READ MORE

The golden decade!
Covid has disrupted the world as we know it, probably forever! One sector which has used Covid as the growth catalyst is IT. Dalal Street veteran Sudip Bandyopadhyay lists out two reasons for this growth which has driven the IT sector into a multi-year rerating phase. The obvious reason among these two is the demand for digitisation of the economy, starting with work from home gaining traction. READ MORE

Swimming upstream
Ace fund manager Shankar Sharma has cut exposure to Indian and global commodity bets amid a commodity super-cycle. Doesn’t sound logical right? Yes, but the market veteran has his justification. “Whenever we start seeing record profits from commodity firms (companies) & talk of a 'Commodity Super Cycle', it is time to lighten up. Always think like a hare,” Sharma said in a tweet on micro-blogging website Twitter. READ MORE