Imagine a batsman in a cricket match on 99 and struggling to score the elusive 100th run; that scenario, according to Gautam Shah of Goldilocks Premium Research is what the Nifty 50 index is currently facing.

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The 50-stock benchmark index has recovered nearly 20 percent from its lows of 15,183 reached in June this year. The index has made multiple attempts to cross the 18,000-mark but has not managed to do so.

However, in an interview to CNBC-TV18, Shah said that it is a matter of time before the Nifty 50 index crosses the mark of 18,000, post which, a move towards 18,600 is likely. The Nifty's all-time high is 18,604. Despite the recovery from the lows, Shah does not see any signs of the index being overbought or topping out.

"The market looks firm, there is phenomenal relative strength, participation is great, momentum on the good days is far better than the bad ones. So just about everything suggests that this is a textbook style bull market that will continue," he said.

Shah attributed the recovery in the market to the financial names, saying the index would not be knocking on the doors of 18,000 had it not been for them. He expects the Nifty Bank index to scale levels of 41,800 before witnessing "any meaningful correction."

After recovering from the low's of the year, the Nifty is now up 2 percent on a year-to-date basis. But Shah finds more value within the broader market.

Limited Downside But Value Elsewhere

A consensus that has emerged on the street is bearish commentary on the Indian IT companies due to margin pressures and fears of a recession in the US. The fears have led to the Nifty IT index correcting over 30 percent from its 52-week high and is among the worst performing sectoral index for the year.

The index in the last two sessions has respected a critical support level of 28,500 and that is where Shah takes heart from. He believes that the correction within the technology names is overdone without any particular deterioration in fundamentals. A similar view was echoed by Macquarie's Ravi Menon in an interview to CNBC TV-18 last week.

"I think a reversal can happen. It makes sense to buy if you want to play the story from a 6-12 month perspective because the downside is limited and the upside potential is about 15-20 percent," he said.

However, he issued a word of caution that if one is looking to play for outperformance and momentum, that could be found in sectors like Capital Goods & Autos.

Missing The Bus On Autos?

While IT stocks have corrected 30 percent from their peak, the Nifty Auto index has gained a similar quantum over the last 12 months. Stocks like Mahindra & Mahindra, Eicher Motors, Maruti are up anywhere between 20-60 percent this year.

Shah says the momentum is due to stocks breaking out from a multi-year range as the Auto index remained an underperformer over the last few years.

"There is a lot more upside for stocks like M&M and Maruti which we continue to like and even Tata Motors should join the party at sometime," he said, adding that it is better to remain overweight on Autos.

Multi-Year Breakout In Real Estate

The Real Estate index witnessed a breakout from a 10-year range in 2021. The index may have corrected post that but has managed to stage a rebound from the lows.

Shah's working target on the Real Estate Index is 530, which is close to its 52-week high of 561. "I think the trend is here to stay. This is a very big theme and the stocks will eventually turn vertical due to the kind moves we are going to see," he said. Shah advises his clients to remain invested and not play for the short-term.

Among other sectors, Shah has witnessed traction within the cement names over the last few trading sessions. He believes that there could be a bigger theme at play within the sector in the next six months, adding that the sector is also a proxy to real estate.

Other Key Takeaways From The Interview:

Smallcaps will be the flavor for the next six months; have a working target of 11,000 on the Smallcap Index

Bigger opportunity lies in the broader markets

PSUs can do a specialty chemicals-type rally in the future

Indian Hotels, QSR names should do well over the medium term

Barring Sun Pharma, Cipla & Laurus, nothing has moved within the Pharma space

No point fighting the market. Better to stick to pockets where the strength lies

Specialty Chemical names will keep finding supply at higher levels

Remove the winners of 2020 from your memory only then can you find winners for the next bull run