Nifty at 28,000 in FY25-26? Anand Rathi’s Feroze Azeez tells Anil Singhvi the logic behind the bull run call

Anand Rathi Wealth’s Feroze Azeez sees Nifty potentially scaling 26,000–28,000 in FY25–26, supported by cash-driven rallies and stable FII short data. Speaking to Zee Business, clarified that only 3 per cent of recent market momentum was due to short covering — a sign of healthier underlying buying interest. He emphasized, “Cash-led rallies are more stable.”

Retail investors: Use interest income to ride the bull run

Azeez suggested even risk-averse FD investors could participate in the rally through long-term call options. For instance, one could invest the interest portion of an FD (say Rs 80,000 from a Rs 10 lakh FD) in December Nifty call options, reducing downside risk while gaining market exposure.

Market Strategy

He advised a bottom-up stock-picking approach, identifying stocks close to 52-week lows where retail exits and institutional entries have occurred. According to Azeez, such counters have high potential to outperform — his backtest suggests this could beat the Nifty by 6-7 per cent annually.

Funds to favour

In mutual funds, he recommended Flexicap and Multicap schemes, citing current valuation equilibrium across segments. If valuations stretch too far, investors could switch to mid, small or large-cap specific funds.

Sector spotlight

FMCG is back on his radar. “No one’s talking about it, which makes it interesting,” said Azeez. He pointed out that stocks like Nestle and Britannia consistently perform on the worst Nifty days — making them true defensives with limited free floats. Post-rally, low-beta FMCG names could stabilize portfolios, he said.

He believes high-beta names are ideal during dips, while low-beta FMCG stocks are better after rallies — a risk-balanced view for the rest of FY25.