Consumption Pattern Slightly Different This Election Year

Election years usually bring in volatility in the market. Vijay Chandok, managing director and CEO of ICICI Securities, talks about opportunities and challenges in 2024 for the stock market.

- Nidhi Sinha

Edited excerpts: 

How do you see the markets behaving during 2024 elections?

Generally, in the run-up to the elections, the policies are such that multiplier effects come into the economy as you find that the government spending is quite robust. All that leads to consumption, which tends to be on the higher side.  But we are coming on the back of a slightly inflationary environment, so the consumption pattern this time around is slightly different from what we have seen in the past. We are seeing a K-shaped recovery on demand.

Typically, it is the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) which gets impacted positively. This time, the auto sector is getting positively impacted. FMCG is still flat. The other thing is that rural India also tends to showcase the consumption story. Going forward, I think two-wheelers, rural consumption and auto consumption are expected to show growth.

Are there other big sectors to watch out for?

One of the segments that we are quite excited about is the entire energy transition to clean energy space and renewables. Data sciences, data centres, APIs, that is another very interesting area that is expected to see growth. Then, some of the PLI (production-linked incentive) efforts are leading to growth in the electronics manufacturing sector. And let us not forget the spend the government is doing towards modernising railways and defence sectors.