Time to book profit now; buy when Nifty hits 16,000: BofA Securities

The foreign brokerage firm expects Nifty to drop to 16,000 levels as they foresee global slowdown, volatile commodities, peak urban demand/slow rural revival as some of the risks for earnings.

With the Nifty50 just about 3 per cent away from its all-time closing high of 18,812 points, analysts at BofA Securities suggest investors book profit. Their reasons for the advice include risks like the possibility of a cut in corporate earnings growth forecasts, high valuation (one-year forward P/E of 19.5x), interest rates staying elevated for longer-than-expected and credit tightening.

Going ahead, they expect the Nifty50 index to drop to 16,000 levels – down nearly 12 per cent from the current level of 18,255 points, which they believe would be a good time to buy. However, BofA Securities has kept its