Business
Stock Outlook 2022: FMCG, pharma, IT sectors seen as ‘safe and satisfying’ bets

With uncertainties facing Indias equity markets next year, top analysts have termed sectors such as FMCG, pharma and IT services, along with real estate, power, infra, and telecom as ‘safe and satisfying investment options in 2022.
Factors such as growth potential, price as well as evolving economic recovery have made these sectors more attractive than others.
“Given the uncertainties, one can focus more on defensives (FMCG, pharma, IT services) till there is more clarity on economic growth and inflation across the globe. This is despite the fact that defensives may not be cheap,” said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.
“In case the markets continue to underperform, these sectors may provide downside protection as they may fall less than the market or other sectors,” he said.
According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, strong outlook sectors like pharma have undergone decent consolidation.
“Similarly, FMCG and telecom look good. Long-term outlook of IT is robust and has undergone a phase of time correction. New growth and theme sectors like renewables, electronics, textiles, and chemicals look good on a long-term basis, which are settling from high valuations,” Nair said
Besides, other sectors such as real estate, power, infra, capital goods and banking will be eyed keenly by the investors.
“If I talk about the real estate sector, there is a turnaround story after 10 years of underperformance where the last five years were very painful due to demonetisation, NBFC crisis, RERA etc., but things are looking very bright now thanks to low-interest rates, stamp duty cuts, supportive government policies and consolidation in the industry due to RERA,” said Sunil Nyati, Managing Director at Swastika Investmart.
“Similarly, power, infra and capital goods are coming out of 14 years of ‘Vanvas’, and the market has started celebration for this, which is likely to continue for the next couple of years because there is valuation comfort as well as strong growth outlook,” Nyati added.
On the other hand, financials, auto, metals and aviation stocks might lose favour in the coming year.
“Markets around the world are already trading at all-time high, and most of the economies are trying to reach the pre-Covid levels. So, one can avoid auto sectors, as all over the world, the auto industry is struggling with chip shortage and supply may not meet the demand till the second half of 2022 or first half of 2023,” said Gaurav Garg, Head of Research, CapitalVia Global Research.
“Second is the aviation sector, which is still struggling to make a comeback, especially with many countries still imposing bans on other countries, which may be witnessed until there is a clarity on the new mutation,” Garg added.
Jasani pointed out that over-owned sectors like financials, auto, metals, among others, may keep underperforming for some time even as investors re-weight their portfolios in favour of emerging or safer stocks.
Crime
Bengaluru: Nursing student raped by PG owner after confessing to theft; accused held

Bengaluru, June 25: An incident has been reported from Bengaluru on Wednesday where a nursing student was allegedly raped by the owner of a paying guest (PG) accommodation after she confessed to a theft, officials said.
The police have arrested the accused.
The arrested person has been identified as 35-year-old Ravi Teja Reddy, the owner of the PG facility.
According to the police, Reddy raped the 21-year-old woman after she admitted to stealing three gold rings from another girl residing in the same PG.
Following the victim’s complaint, Reddy has been booked for rape and taken into police custody.
The victim, a nursing graduate from Andhra Pradesh, had joined the PG only a week prior to the incident and was searching for a job, the police said.
Investigations revealed that the victim had allegedly stolen three gold rings from another PG inmate.
She had also disconnected the CCTV camera wire during the theft.
However, she asked another inmate whether the CCTV footage would still be recorded despite the wire of the CCTV camera being cut.
This conversation was shared with Reddy, which raised his suspicion on the nurse.
Reddy then summoned the victim for questioning and threatened to hand her over to the police.
The girl reportedly confessed to the theft, after which Reddy instructed his aides to retrieve the hidden valuables, police added.
When the victim pleaded with Reddy to forgive her and not to inform the police, he allegedly slapped her and sexually assaulted her.
Initially hesitant to file a complaint, the victim later confided in a male friend.
The friend then contacted a city-based advocate, who helped lodge a formal complaint with the police.
Based on the complaint, the police sent the victim for a medical examination and arrested the accused.
Reddy has been booked under Sections 64(1), 74, and 75(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act.
In her complaint, the victim said that Reddy initially touched her private parts under the pretext of checking her.
When she resisted, he allegedly forced her to perform oral sex.
The FIR further mentions that the victim, unable to control her urge to vomit after the assault, ran to the restroom.
Reddy followed her and allegedly forced her to have unnatural sex again.
The victim also said that Reddy later threatened her not to reveal the incident to anyone.
It was only after the victim’s friends came to her support that she gathered the courage to file a complaint.
International
South Korea welcomes Israel-Iran ceasefire, commends US’ diplomatic efforts

Seoul, June 25: The South Korean Foreign Ministry on Wednesday welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran and praised the diplomatic efforts led by the US and other involved countries.
“We hope that all parties will faithfully implement the terms of the agreement so that tensions in the region can be eased swiftly,” the ministry said in a statement.
As a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, South Korea “will continue to participate in the international community’s efforts to promote peace and stability in the Middle East,” Yonhap news agency reported.
Earlier on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump declared that a ceasefire between Iran and Israel had officially taken effect, urging both sides to maintain restraint.
“THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!” Trump posted on the social media platform Truth Social.
The announcement came amid escalating violence in the Middle East, but President Trump’s declaration appeared to catch both parties off guard. The ceasefire claim was quickly contradicted by Iran, which asserted it had not received any formal proposal from Washington and had not agreed to a bilateral ceasefire.
US President Trump also wrote, “Israel & Iran came to me, almost simultaneously, and said, ‘Peace’! I knew the time was NOW. The World, and the Middle East, are the real winners!”
“Both Nations will see tremendous love, peace and prosperity in their futures. They have so much to gain, and yet, so much to lose if they stray from the road of righteousness and truth. The future for Israel & Iran is unlimited and filled with great promise. God bless you both!” he added.
Earlier, Iran announced a unilateral halt to its military operations against Israel, effective 4 a.m. local time, but made it clear that the pause was conditional, based entirely on whether Israel would stop its own airstrikes and military actions.
Crime
PFI had ‘hit list’ of 950 in Kerala including judge, reveals NIA probe

Kochi, June 25: In a startling revelation made by the National Investigating Agency (NIA), it has surfaced that the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) had prepared a hit list of 950 people in Kerala.
The list, which surfaced in the media on Wednesday, included a now-retired district judge.
Incidentally, this list was submitted early this month by the NIA at a special court here when the bail applications of four accused in the murder of RSS leader Sreenivasan came up for hearing. The NIA opposed the bail strongly. The four accused, identified as Muhammad Bilal, Riyasudheen, Ansar K.P. and Saheer K.V., were arrested for murdering Sreenivasan at Palakkad, Kerala, in 2022.
The list of 950 was compiled after getting confirmed inputs from different places by the NIA probe team. It includes eight documents seized from the 51st accused, Sirajudheen, which contain a list of 240 people from other communities.
Then, while conducting a search held at Periyar Valley Campus at Aluva, NIA was able to get the details of five targeted persons from the purse of the 15th accused, Abdul Wahad, who is presently on the run.
It was in this list that the name of a former district judge was found.
Another document seized from an accused, who turned approver later, contained a hit list with the names of 232 people.
Similarly, a search held at the home of the 69th accused, Ayoob, a hit list containing the names of about 500 people was found.
When the NIA was probing the Sreenivasan case, the PFI link emerged. It was later found that PFI had sinister plans to create unrest in the country.
During the investigation, the anti-terror agency got details of the PFI carrying out physical and arms training for its cadres.
The NIA has now claimed that it has voice clips and witness statements that reveal the ‘India 2047 plan’ of setting up Islamic rule in India.
The special court, after hearing both sides and going through the documents produced before it, observed that there were reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against the petitioners was prima facie true, and rejected the bail petition.
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