Lehman Brothers India Portfolio Strategy

FII, Lehman Brothers just a while ago has released India strategy report.After the recent strong run, market valuations have become quite expensive compared with historical levels. However, the declining global interest rate environment coupled with strong flows could mean that the market remains expensive.

The report said,

We are overweight domestic cyclicals, especially those for which interest rates are key inputs in driving demand and valuations. These include banks, automobiles and utilities as key sector plays. We also recommend overweighting construction stocks given strength in both corporate and infrastructure capex. Moreover, we expect large consumption buoyancy, especially in durables, following the award of Sixth Pay Commission.

One can avoid sectors with INR costs and USD revenues. This means underweighting the technology and pharmaceutical sectors. Also underweight on global cyclicals such as metals at this time..

Ten large cap picks include Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Maruti Udyog, Mahindra & Mahindra, Union Bank, SBI, Nagarjuna Construction, NTPC and Zee Telefilms.