Mkt to trade sideways; spaces like cement, auto ancillary, PSU banks look good: Pros

The Indian equity market closed in the red for the week despite gains in the last two sessions. Nifty managed to hold on to the 9100 levels but came off the day’s high.
Ashwani Gujral of ashwanigujral.com will the market not being able to move even 200 points post-Uttar Pradesh good news tells you that more consolidation is needed, more good news is needed. So earnings remain key till then it is likely to move sideways.
Mehraboon Irani of Nirmal Bang Securities says although the market looks expensive, it is a fact that the momentum is still there and money is still coming in. Globally, if US health bill goes through today then we may see gap-up opening on Monday and if does not go through, then it would be a big blow to the Trump’s policy credibility.
Talking sector/stock specific, Irani says things are sure to improve for the PSU banks. With the Finance Minister categorically stating that they will resolve the NPA issues, the trajectory for PSU Banks looks good, and one can see some upside for the stocks.
So it would be advisable to increase positions in PSU banks. Stock specific he likes Bank of Baroda and as a contrarian bet, he likes Punjab National Bank.
From the pharma space, Irani thinks the frontline pharma companies in terms of valuation have reached a level where one could go shopping but selectively and only for the long-term. One can look at Cipla, Sun Pharma, Lupin because the downside for these stocks is limited from current levels, says Irani.
Going forward, Cement and infrastructure could be the spaces to attract attention and would be the best space to be in. One can look at Dalmia Bharat in the cement space and from infra space, one could look at IRB Infra.
The auto ancillary space should also do well, believes Irani. WABCO India despite looking expensive at Rs 6000 could reach levels of Rs 10000 over the next 18 months. Another interesting stocks is ZF Steering which also could do well.
Meanwhile, Anand Tandon says it is better to avoid the telecom space and enjoy it as a consumer.
SP Tulsian of sptulsian and Prakash Gaba of prakashgaba.com also shared their stock specific ideas. For the entire discussion, watch video