Mark Mobius, the 71-year old investment guru and executive chairman of Franklin Templeton Investments, has a positive view on the Indian market and feels that stock valuations have become attractive after the 27 per cent cut in benchmark equity indices since late January. The outlook for the Indian market remains positive, Mobius said in an email interview. Asked if the Indian market will see a prolonged bear phase, he said.
"That's almost impossible to predict. However, over the long term, our outlook for emerging markets including India remains positive."
Though it is difficult to predict how long the uncertainty will last, Mobius said valuations were going through the roof and the domestic markets were expensive in the past.
"We maintain a positive view on the Indian markets. While the valuations were relatively expensive in the past, the recent correction has made valuations more attractive than what they were, say, about two months back," he said.
Commenting on the required investment strategies, Mobius said there was no reason for investors to despair as long as they undertook extensive research and invested with a long-term horizon. "The investors need to accept volatility as a part of stock market investing," he said.
Asked to comment on the bad bets made by Indian companies and banks in the offshore foreign derivatives markets, he said it was better "to get accounting boards to ensure that consolidated numbers are declared on a quarterly basis and allow for mark-to-market reporting".
Stating that it was difficult to predict the end of the current phase, Mobius said he expected the decoupling to continue in the long term.
"In the past, the US was the center of the global economy. America's weakening relationship with other countries and the diminishing influence of its economy have given birth to new centers of economic wealth and growth in countries such as India. Thus, we expect decoupling to continue in the long-term," he said.
"Though short-term stock prices across the board have fallen in line with happenings in the US, there is no strong correlation. After an initial change in sympathy, the individual markets go their own way," Mobius said.
