Keep buying gold on dips; 4 sectors to put your money in now: Jitendra Gohil – News Air Insight

With the Nifty sliding to around 22,200 amid West Asia conflict fears, the question on every investor’s mind is simple: buy the dip or wait? Jitendra Gohil, Chief Investment Officer at Bajaj Alternate Asset Management, has a clear answer — but it comes with an uncomfortable diagnosis of why India has been underperforming even before the latest geopolitical flare-up.

The core problem: India is watching the global boom from the sidelines

Gohil argues that the two biggest engines driving global economic growth right now — artificial intelligence and defence — are sectors where India is a net importer, not a beneficiary. Global AI investment over the past three years has crossed $1 trillion, with FY26 alone expected to see $600–650 billion in spending by major tech companies. Global defence budgets are heading toward $2.7–3 trillion. Meanwhile, markets like Taiwan have re-rated sharply from 12–14x PE to nearly 18x, and Korean companies are expected to grow EPS by 20–25% over the next two years — precisely because they are plugged into these spending cycles. India, trading at 18–20x PE but without that earnings justification, finds itself in an uncomfortable position.

“We are not going to see significant re-rating or earnings expansion across the board in India. Our view is single-digit earnings growth — 5% to 8% at best.”

Where Gohil is buying

Despite the cautious macro view, Gohil identifies four pockets of opportunity worth building positions in:

Metals and steel: A potential end to both the Russia-Ukraine and Gaza conflicts would trigger massive reconstruction spending. Steel and metal companies stand to benefit directly from that rebuilding cycle, and Gohil expects quarterly numbers in Q4 and Q1 to already look decent as a precursor.

Private banks: Valuations have corrected considerably. Gohil warns that near-term growth will disappoint and MSME stress is rising, but well-capitalised private banks bought on further dips represent a strong two-year opportunity.

Electronic manufacturing: Semiconductor investments are accelerating in India, import substitution is underway, and defence-linked manufacturing is seeing government-backed tailwinds. Power equipment producers and consumer durables manufacturers are specifically flagged.Consumer discretionary (second half of the year) : The 8th Pay Commission is expected to drive a pre-UP election spending push. Auto and auto ancillaries could see selective buying emerge around the festive season window, though this call is conditional on a normal monsoon — with El Niño conditions developing, Gohil urges caution.

Gold or equities — where should you shift now?

Gohil is not alarmed by gold’s recent cooling. He notes that RBI’s gold reserves stand at just 11–11.5% of total reserves — compared to over 60–70% for many European central banks — leaving significant room for structural accumulation as India grows from a $4 trillion to a $10 trillion economy. Gold remains a buy-on-dips asset class for him over the long term.

For equities, his message is patience over aggression. With US 10-year yields potentially heading toward 4.5–5% and inflation remaining unpredictable, he describes 2026 as an accumulation year — gradual, diversified deployment rather than concentrated bets.

The bottom line

India’s market will likely remain range-bound and choppy for the next six to nine months. Gohil’s playbook: stay diversified, accumulate metals, private banks and electronics manufacturing on dips, keep gold as a structural hedge, and lower return expectations from equities for the rest of 2026.