Markets At The Turn Of The Year: What Lies Ahead? | Deven Choksey

On the final day of 2025 - a challenging year with Nifty delivering ~9-10% returns amid volatility, FII outflows, and mid/small-cap pain - analyst Deven Choksey of DR Choksey sees strong promise for 2026. India enters as the world's fourth-largest economy with robust 7.3-7.5% GDP growth projections, lower taxes, reduced GST rates, falling interest/inflation, and export-boosting FTAs. Markets remain reasonably valued at ~20x forward P/E. He expects large-caps to lead, with selective mid/small-caps offering opportunities only on corrections. Key optimism lies in IT (TCS, Infosys via AI shift), NBFCs (Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance, Bajaj Housing), autos (Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, ancillaries like Minda), Reliance (for Jio/retail listings), and education players like Jaro Education. Mid/small-caps face consolidation, not boom.