The Indian stock market may continue to remain range-bound due to slow earnings growth, high valuations and ongoing foreign investor selling, said Pratik Gupta, CEO and Co-Head of Kotak Institutional Equities. He advised investors to focus on protecting capital rather than chasing returns.

Kotak expects Nifty earnings growth at 8.5–9% this year. Gupta said this does not justify current market levels. “The Nifty is still trading at about 21.5 times 2026-27 (FY27) earnings, which is still expensive,” he said. He added that India still trades at a 60% premium to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index even after underperforming other markets in the past year.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) continue to pull out funds, as markets with stronger AI-linked opportunities such as Korea, Taiwan, Brazil

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