Anand Shah, CIO – PMS & AIF at ICICI Prudential AMC, which manages assets worth nearly $3.07 billion, believes the fall is more about a valuation reset than immediate earnings damage.
He said, “There is no near-term risk to earnings, and even if there is, it is very marginal in the immediate future.”
According to Shah, the pressure is coming from PE multiples as investors reassess the long-term impact of AI on revenue growth and margins.
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Shah noted that Indian IT companies face deflationary risks as AI takes over low-end work. However, he added that lower costs could also expand demand and create new use cases.
Despite this possibility, he cautioned that valuations were not cheap to begin with, and growth visibility remains uncertain.
“PE multiples were not cheap, and the growth is completely uncertain, and to that extent, there is a rightly de-rating that’s happening in the sector at this point of time,” he added.
His portfolios have been underweight IT for the past few years, and he continues to evaluate the sector carefully.
Beyond IT, Shah sees 2026 as a year of gradual economic recovery. He does not expect a sharp rebound but believes stock-picking will matter more than macro calls.
“This year will be about stock-picking, about identifying which businesses,” he said, highlighting opportunities in companies that were hit by slower credit growth and capex last year.
On metals, Shah prefers a bottom-up approach. He sees more room for ferrous stocks after a strong rally in non-ferrous names.
For gold and silver, he believes global reflation, high government debt, and low real rates could keep interest strong as savers look beyond financial assets.
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