Fundamentals of the equity market are quite positive, said Manpreet Gill, MD, Head-FICC Investment Strategy at Standard Chartered Private Bank, on Thursday. Indian indices ended nearly 2 percent lower on Wednesday, extending losses for the fourth consecutive session with Nifty falling below the 14,000-mark for the first time this year, dragged mainly by losses in the banking and financial space.

Speaking in an interview with CNBC-TV18, Gill said, “We are primarily reading this as the unwinding of stretched positioning. The market, ever since the US election, is unending bout of optimism and for good reasons whether on the policy front, vaccination or an economic rebound.”

He further added, “Of course, this could very well extend for another few days; potentially for a couple of weeks, but that’s a short-term move in nature. For us, it’s about correcting that but it doesn’t change the fundamentals which for us are still quite positive.”

There is no such thing as a universal safe haven, Gill said, “Safe havens always have space in a diversified allocation but in our view, there is no such thing as universal safe-haven; each one tends to play a different role.”

On the India front, Gill said, “We are constructive on Asian markets and India ranks relatively high in that pecking order."

Watch the video for more

(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)