Ignore market noise, India’s long-term story remains intact, say D-Street bulls Ramesh Damani and Sunil Singhania

While Indian markets may be temporarily on a slippery slope amid significant foreign inflows, geopolitical tensions and rising concerns if India lags in areas such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors, the country’s infrastructure growth drivers remain intact, believe D-Street top brass Rammani Singh and Sunil.

Speaking at a fireside session during the Grove India Investor Festival 2026 in Mumbai, the two investors urged retail participants to ignore short-term market noises and focus on long-term wealth creation through disciplined investing.

“Post-Covid we are used to markets returning 15-20 per cent every year. Markets do not move in a straight line,” Damani said, cautioning investors against drawing conclusions from short-term corrections or temporary underperformance.

Referring to past market cycles, Damani said benchmark indices in global markets have often turned sideways for long periods, while fundamentally strong companies have continued to build significant shareholder value beneath the muted performance of the broader market.

“When I started my investment journey, the Sensex was below 1,000. Today it is above 80,000. There is no reason to believe that India will not continue to create massive wealth in the next 10-20 years,” he said.

In recent months, there has been a steady outflow of foreign institutional investors and an influx of investors from Korea, Taiwan and the US. Addressing concerns about India lagging behind peers, Damani argued that fears of a slowdown in domestic investor participation were overblown.

“Whenever foreigners sell, someone buys those stocks. Local investors understand Indian businesses best, and they support Indian companies with confidence,” he said.

FIIs will invest Rs. 2.06 lakh crore of domestic equity offloaded, remaining a net seller for the third consecutive month-to-date. So far this month they have collected Rs. 14,231 crore shares have been sold. In less than five months, the inflow of foreign investment was Rs. 1.66 lakh crore has crossed the 2025 figure.

Also Read: FIIs in 2026 to Rs. Sells over 2 lakh crore worth of Indian equities. What’s next?

The Nifty is down more than 7% year-on-year even as its Asian peers such as the Shanghai Composite (4%), Nikkei 225 (21%) and Kospi (74%) outperformed the headline index. Its Wall Street rivals such as the Dow (2.5%) and the Nasdaq Composite (13%) also performed well.

Echoing a similar sentiment, Sunil Singhania, founder of Abaqus Asset Manager, said India’s economic model remains fundamentally strong due to its consumption-driven growth engine, though he acknowledged that India has yet to emerge as a dominant player in sectors such as semiconductors and deep technology.

“There is no doubt that many global companies have done exceptionally well in AI and semiconductors. But consumption and people ultimately sustain the economy and India is one of the strongest long-term consumption stories globally,” Singhania said.

Both investors repeatedly emphasized the importance of patience and compounding, cautioning retail investors against chasing speculative returns or shifting between trending asset classes.

“There is no secret to wealth creation. The real secret is compounding,” Damani said during the audience talk, adding that investors should focus on quality businesses and give the investment time to grow.

Field Opportunities

Damani remains bullish on defence, infrastructure, logistics and energy-related businesses, arguing that they could emerge as long-term beneficiaries in an increasingly fragmented geopolitical environment.

“The world has changed. Every country now wants strong self-defense and supply-chain independence,” he said, adding that investors will need to realign portfolios for the changing global order.

Asset Allocation: Gold/Silver

Two investors also retreated against the growing retail appeal of gold and silver following a sharp rally in precious metals.

Singhania, emphasizing the importance of equity, called gold and silver non-productive assets and termed them growth assets. He recommended only a limited allocation to precious metals.

(disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, opinions and views given by experts are their own. (These do not represent the views of the Economic Times.)