Budget 2019: Govt has to strike a tight balance between growth and fiscal discipline, says Adrian Mowat

The Budget is going to be a "daunting" task for Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and the government has to strike a balance between growth and fiscal discipline, says emerging markets equity strategist Adrian Mowat.

The first budget after a general election should see the most fiscal discipline because the political cost is the lowest, he said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

The sentiment in the global markets has improved in the past 12 months, Mowat added.

There is "no alternative avenue of investments" due to lower bond yields, according to Mowat.

The Indian market is quite expensive at the index level, he said.

The market may see a "sell-on-news phenomenon" after the Budget speech, according to Mowat.

Mowat said he recommends buying stocks of high quality private banks in India.

"Some of the infrastructure stocks may give back up to half of their recent rally," he added.