Financials, largecap oil firms have reported decent numbers, says Max Life Insurance's Mihir Vora

Mihir Vora, senior director and CIO, Max Life Insurance, says private sector banks and some NBFCS are looking attractive.

Large-cap oil and gas companies have reported satisfactory financial results for the March quarter, Mihir Vora, senior director and CIO, Max Life Insurance, has said. He also suggests keeping a close eye on banks' margins but does not anticipate any issues with asset quality.

"We don't see any major issues at present and are hopeful that with the fall in commodity prices, there could be an improvement in the margins of FMCG companies.

“We believe that the focus should not be on margins in the near future, but rather on how the topline (revenue) performs for most of these companies,” Vora told CNBC-TV 18 in an interview.

Auto sector results were a mixed bag. Though there is some pent-up demand and a low base effect in the two-wheeler segment, the passenger vehicle (car) segment is uncertain, he said.

Vora favoured waiting for April numbers to get a clearer picture of the sector. According to initial indications, there is a slowdown in discretionary spending, which is affecting the auto sector and other segments. Therefore, “we remain cautious about consumption” when compared to a couple of months ago, Vora added.

He said private sector banks and some non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) are attractive investments due to their valuations.

He, however, is cautious on the IT sector and expressed concern about US tech spending. He is optimistic about an increase in real estate demand and believes that stocks are not overpriced.

"The banking sector has had a great season in terms of results, with most of them being encouraging, and I do not anticipate any major issues with asset quality in the coming quarters.

“However, we should monitor margins due to the increase in interest rates by the RBI and the competition for deposits among all institutions, whether public or private. We should also keep an eye out for any signs of moderation in credit demand. Overall, I believe that asset quality will not be a concern,” Vora said.

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