PNB Housing & Aadhar Housing: Arun Kejriwal shares 2 housing finance picks; says this on Bajaj Housing

Market veteran Arun Kejriwal on Thursday said that affordable housing finance companies would be among the top picks at current levels. On the stock-specific front, he liked PNB Housing Finance Ltd and Aadhar Housing Finance Ltd. "My top two bets in this segment would be PNB Housing and Aadhar Housing. PNB Housing has recently given its business update and the numbers were impressive in terms of growth that the company has achieved," the market expert told Business Today. "I'm not sure whether Bajaj Housing Finance (recently listed) would be able to match those numbers," he added.

Kejriwal also shared his preferred stock selections from the banking space. He said, "When you talk about the banking space, you have to go with the leaders. ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank, which form a large part of your Nifty basket, would be the top picks. In PSU banks, State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank would be the selected plays."

The market specialist believes the Indian market is doing much better than expected. "Investors are not panicking. I'm referring to those new investors who have joined post-Covid. There is no panic from them and the urge they must trade every day also seems to be missing today, which is very positive for our market. Pharma has typically been known as the defensive sector. When you don't know what to do with your money and you want to continue being invested in the market, the go-to sector used to be pharma. Textiles is the other sector which looked positive," he stated.

"On a broader scale, India started making India program about four to five years ago. I believe the time is now coming when we will be able to capture this moment. As a result of what has been announced by US President Donald Trump, the Indian manufacturing platform could go the world over as people look to readjust their purchases and sales in view of what has started as a tariff global war," Kejriwal also said.

Meanwhile, Indian equity benchmarks traded in negative territory today after US President Donald Trump imposed reciprocal tariffs on its trading partners, including India. He imposed a tariff of 27 per cent on Indian imports and a 34 per cent tariff on neighbouring China. According to a commerce ministry official, 10 per cent tariffs will come into effect on imports into the US from April 5, and the remaining 17 per cent from April 10.