Rohit Seksaria, Fund Manager at Sundaram Mutual, is navigating the current turbulence in Indian equity markets by repositioning his investment strategy. He anticipates that the crude price disruptions due to the US-Iran conflict will last no longer than the first half of this year, with a market recovery expected in the latter half. Seksaria's primary focus is on the lending financial sector, which includes banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), where he sees healthy growth and believes net interest margins have bottomed out. He also favors the broader services economy, which includes sectors like retail, telecom, and healthcare, as these are less affected by crude price fluctuations.

Conversely, he is cautious about traditional IT services due to the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on operational efficiencies, leading to potential revenue declines and workforce reductions. Furthermore, Seksaria is trimming his exposure to metals after a strong cyclical performance and is stepping back from the EMS (electronic manufacturing services) sector, where he sees execution issues. His advice for investors is to focus on domestic services and be selective in their recovery strategies.