2015 will be good, but not as good as '14; like Maruti:Bhat

2015 will be a good year, but it may not give as good returns as 2014, says Dilip Bhat of Prabhudas Lilladher. But for retail investors it may be a great time to build their portfolios for the next 3-5 years, he adds.

For the January series, or even the month of January there are three factors that need to be watched, according to Bhat. Over the last month, FII interest has waned off significantly, but the broad assumption is it will make a comeback, he says. There may be a pre-Budget rally and the Nifty may once again see 8500-8600 for a brief period. But the spoilsport, according to him, will be the third quarter numbers.

Bhat says the possibility of excise duty concession being withdrawn from the auto sector is a known factor and it is unlikely to impact the market much. There may be a small dent in profitability, but on a broader basis investors should continue to buy stocks such as Tata Motors, Maruti, Bajaj Auto and Hero Motocorp.

As far as Bank Nifty goes, especially public sector banks (PSU), he believes it is still under-owned and it is one sector that will see maximum impact of government and RBI measures and the economy turning the corner. He feels there is still good amount of steam left in PSU bank stocks for the next one to one and a half years. He is bullish on frontline PSU banks such as State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank and Union Bank. He also likes Syndicate Bank and UCO Bank among others.