Manulife's Rana Gupta favours digital transition, power equipment and advanced manufacturing
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Manulife's Rana Gupta favours digital transition, power equipment and advanced manufacturing - Edited byalphadesk - Published OnNov 13, 2026 | 13:08 IST - Last Updated OnNov 13, 2026 | 13:08 IST Rana Gupta, Senior Portfolio Manager & India Equity Specialist at Manulife Investment Management sees India's equity rally broadening, with opportunities emerging from AI adoption, rising power demand, energy transition and advanced manufacturing. Rana Gupta, Senior Portfolio Manager and India Equity Specialist at Manulife Investment Management, expects the Indian equity rally to broaden as exogenous headwinds recede and artificial intelligence (AI) adoption moves downstream. The recent outperformance of domestic markets represents more than just a temporary rotation. Tariff issues that previously roiled markets are largely resolved, and while oil remains volatile at 95-plus levels, prices appear to have peaked. Furthermore, as the global AI trade shifts from upstream capital expenditure in chips to mainstream inferencing, India is positioned to capture downstream opportunities. "In fact, globally, we are seeing that the markets are broadening and that should be favourable for India," Gupta noted, adding that underlying fundamentals and recent quarterly corporate earnings have remained strong. Against this backdrop, Manulife Investment Management is focusing on three primary themes: digital transition, energy transition, and advanced manufacturing. Within the digital space, the preference is for companies investing in physical infrastructure across quick commerce, beauty and personal care, and the eye care segment. These businesses act as AI adoption plays by using data science to plan their next warehouses and stores. Because digital business models reward market leaders who dominate the supply chain and customer data, execution takes precedence over immediate pricing concerns. "If the business execution is good and the long-term growth runway is good, I will be tolerant of a bit of a higher valuation in the near term because the earning growth rate of this company is going to be so strong that the valuation will normalise as we roll forward to the subsequent years," the portfolio manager explained. Energy transition and power equipment form the second structural opportunity, directly linked to the technology boom. As AI enters the inferencing stage, it demands massive power and data center capacity. With US data centers facing delays, Western companies may look to India, driving demand for land and renewable energy. These dynamic benefits domestic companies producing, storing, or trading renewable power, alongside the electric vehicle segment. Simultaneously, robust global power demand has completely booked out supply chains for power equipment, causing tightness in advanced manufacturing. This spillover is bringing aerospace, defence, and semiconductor orders to Indian companies, putting the domestic advanced manufacturing sector on the verge of a pickup. In the financial space, the approach remains highly selective. While firm oil prices and rising interest rates generally favour the banking trade, prime corporate, auto, and housing loans will continue to face yield pressures. The preferred lenders are those expanding into Tier 2, Tier 3, and Tier 4 markets, targeting hybrid or subprime segments using digital underwriting and collection technologies, rather than banks relying solely on prime mortgages. Watch the full conversation here For the IT services sector, traditional application development and large-team coding are no longer viable as AI commoditises basic programming. The operating model has shifted away from bidding on large Western requests for proposals. Instead, IT firms must anticipate client needs and sell solutions that offer visible cost savings. Mid-cap and select large-cap IT companies adapting to this new normal are preferred. Over the next 12 months, as AI development models stabilise, global corporates will seek to integrate automation into daily workflows, presenting a substantial pipeline of work for Indian IT companies capable of transforming their service delivery. Catch all the latest updates from the stock market here The views and tips expressed by investment experts on CNBCTV18.com are their own, not of the website or its management. CNBCTV18.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
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