Chip stocks falling, oil rising and India’s US$30 trillion opportunity: M&G’s Vikas Pershad on where to look now
Geopolitical tensions, Volatility in chip stocks, and the IPO boom - Claressa Monteiro gets this week’s market signals from Vikas Pershad from M&G Investments.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 fell overnight, chip stocks had another difficult session and oil prices hit their highest level in a month on renewed US-Iran tensions. For most investors, that is a headline to worry about. For Vikas Pershad, it is a reason to get interested.
In this episode of Market Focus Weekly, a podcast from The Business Times, we speak with Vikas Pershad, portfolio manager for Asian Equities at M&G Investments, for a conversation that cuts against the prevailing anxiety and makes a quietly compelling case for why the current volatility is creating genuine opportunity across the region.
Why listen
- Why Asia can survive expensive oil but not surprising oil Pershad draws a sharp distinction between price and volatility, explaining why it is the unpredictability of energy costs rather than the level that shows up in corporate margins and derails investment decisions.
- Why M&G significantly reduced its memory chip holdings over the past two months The earnings outlook for 2027 and 2028 had become too optimistic, and the looming Chinese IPO pipeline in the sector changed the competitive calculus. Pershad explains what he is watching instead.
- Why software is not dying despite the market’s February overreaction M&G added selectively to software names during the SaaS sell-off earlier this year. Pershad explains the distinction between businesses that will be weakened by AI and those that will benefit from it.
- Why India’s equity market could grow from US$5 trillion to US$25 to US$30 trillion Transformer makers, optical fiber companies, cable and wire producers and cooling businesses are all part of a story that goes well beyond IT services.
Volatility shakes things up and that isn’t exactly a bad thing. Listen now.
Discover more episodes at bt.sg/podcasts. Got feedback? Email us at btpodcasts@sph.com.sg.
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Hosted by: Claressa Monteiro (claremb@sph.com.sg)
Written by: Nicole Teo
With Vikas Pershad, portfolio manager for Asian Equities, M&G Investments
Edited by: Nicole Teo & Claressa Monteiro
Produced by: Nicole Teo & Chai Pei Chieh
A podcast by BT Podcasts, The Business Times, SPH Media
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ABOUT THE PODCAST
Market Focus Weekly distils the week’s key market moves and economic drivers across Singapore and the region. Hosted by Emily Liu, it delivers expert analysis and forward-looking insights every Friday. It is perfect for investors who want an audio briefing on the week’s investment landscape and what could move markets next.
