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A very special guest is joining us in the program. Harsh Upadhyay, Chief Investment Officer Equities and President of Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund, is joining us in the program. Harsh Sir has more than 20 years of deep experience in equity research and fund management, and you also have good experience working with big, renowned institutions, including DSP Black Rock, UTI Mutual Fund, Reliance Group, and SG Asia. You have a degree in engineering by profession, and besides that, you have also completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from IIM Lucknow, and you are also a CFA. Harsh Sir, good morning. A very warm welcome to you. Thank you for giving us your time. Sir, first of all, I would like to get your opinion on the market's mood and sentiment. The results season has ended. After this results season, how do you see the markets? Are valuations cheap, expensive, or reasonable? Please explain. Good morning, Anil Ji. See, the earnings season has ended. Not many significant results came in, at least in large caps, compared to expectations. We can say the results were more or less in line. And it also happened that this single-digit earnings growth in the Q4 results is a consecutive quarter where we have seen an environment of single-digit earnings growth every time. However, if we consider the energy disruption in the background, it was more or less expected. So, there is no cause for concern in that regard. It is possible that the Q1 results that will come will also be impacted to some extent, due to the ongoing geopolitical tensions and energy disruption. But we feel that the current valuations have already discounted all these things. If you look, the valuations of both large caps and mid-caps are either slightly below or slightly above the 10-year long-term average that we usually compare them with. So, we can say it's more or less a fair valuation zone. Therefore, if you want to build a portfolio for the long term, the valuations have become quite good. It is possible that we may not see anything particularly positive in the Q1 results either, because the war was ongoing in between Q1, and energy disruption is still continuing. So, there might be some impact in that regard. But we feel that it has already been factored into the valuations. Okay, absolutely right. So, these results that came were neither very good nor very bad. But crude is also trying to settle back in the 90-95 range. How do you see this, Sir? Does this create an environment for further rally, or is it better to wait longer? See, if you closely observe the energy market. Every day, there is some news coming from the US side or the Iran side. But the energy market is moving in a direction that expects some resolution here. That is why most of the news developments happening, or even a couple of missiles being fired in between, have not had much impact on the energy market. So, the majority mood in the energy market indicates that crude should go down from here because fundamentally, there has been no increase in demand, and as energy disruption and transportation disruption end, prices should come down. If we consider that, then it is certainly positive for equity markets. And we feel that as the direction in the crude market becomes clear, a clear direction will also emerge in equity markets. If, unfortunately, no resolution happens, then crude might remain at this level or even go up a bit from here. In that situation, in my opinion, the market might remain a bit volatile or move sideways. But according to most expectations, it seems that some resolution should happen soon. That's right. There is indeed hope for a resolution, no doubt about it, and after that, market action might also increase. Sir, regarding the kind of action we are seeing in the rupee. The last four to five days have been quite good for the rupee. There has been a good recovery. It is strong today as well. What should we understand about the currency? Is the worst over? And will there be no more significant weakness? One of the major reasons for FII selling was also considered to be the weak currency. How do you see this? See, Anil Ji, these are all cyclical. For the last few years, a virtuous cycle had formed, where crude oil was at benign levels, our capital flows were also quite good, and the current account deficit was also benign. Because of all this, our currency also remained stable. But in the last two to three quarters, of course, we have seen volatility. This happened first because we saw a negative emerging in capital flows. There were no significant inflows, and the outflows from the secondary market also continued. And then, due to the West Asia war, the increase in crude oil prices also had a negative impact. And if you look at the expectations for the current year's current account deficit, it should be around 2 to 2.5% of GDP. So, that situation has also become negative. What was a virtuous cycle before has become a vicious cycle. Because of this, the rupee was also under pressure. But as you have seen in the crude oil market in the last week or two, as the price of crude oil, which was around $100 per barrel, has fallen to around $90, there are some expectations that perhaps stability will come. And we are seeing that in the rupee-dollar rate as well. And of course, the Reserve Bank of India has also taken some steps, which have also reduced the short-term speculation on the rupee. So, overall, stability has been seen here as well. But we feel that everything, whether it's equity markets or currency markets, will largely get its direction from the crude oil market. If you observe the crude oil market closely and feel that some clarity is emerging in its direction, then that will be a good sign for all other markets as well. We agree. You have analyzed this thoroughly. Now tell us, Sir, in such a market, where do you see investment opportunities? See, as we have discussed, there might not be clarity in the short term, or because of that, markets might remain sideways or a bit volatile. But for about 18 to 24 months, the market has been consolidating in a sideways range, and the trajectory of earnings growth rate was also not very significant, especially in large caps. There is an expectation of recovery from there. It is possible that even if the Q1 results are not very significant, in our opinion, investors will overlook that and focus more on the future trajectory. We feel that one should not be too negative here. If you are fully invested according to your risk appetite, then you should hold at this level. There should not be too much panic. If you are under-invested in equities, then you should definitely increase your equity allocation gradually at this level because we feel that usually, after market consolidation and earnings consolidation, the upturn that follows also provides an opportunity for valuation rerating. So, if you are thinking three years ahead, then one should not be too negative at these valuations. It is possible that in the short term, you may need to show more patience, but in the long term, you should definitely benefit from here. A question for you on IT stocks as well. What should be understood? Amidst the threat of AI, IT stocks have been beaten down significantly. Is it time to buy, or is it still far away? See, our view on the sector is still underweight. We are not seeing any changes in business momentum that would indicate increasing discretionary spending for the IT sector, which could be positive. The margins, even today, are quite good for many Indian IT services companies. The AI disruption we are talking about, if we compare it to the last one or two years, we are closer to disruption happening today. But margins have not been impacted yet. However, if you think that business momentum will remain the same and margins might be impacted slightly, then there doesn't seem to be much scope for valuation rerating from here. Therefore, we feel that a cautious approach should still be taken towards the IT sector of Nifty. It is possible that in the short term, there might be pull-back rallies, and sharp pull-back rallies, because where valuations become very cheap, pull-back rallies can also be very strong if the market sentiment changes. But if you consider a three-year outlook, then even today, there is no very positive reason to be overweight in the IT sector, in our opinion. Okay, so it doesn't seem like there's much strength in IT stocks for large purchases anytime soon. So, remaining somewhat neutral is better. Harsh Sir, thank you very much. You gave us your time. You gave our viewers your detailed opinion on the market's direction. We will meet again soon. Thank you very much for today.