India most preferred Asia-Pac equity market: BofA Securities FMS survey

Business Standard

14-05-2025

Indian stock markets are the most preferred in the Asia Pacific (Asia Pac) region, suggests a recent fund manager survey (FMS) done by BofA Securities. A net 42 per cent of the fund managers surveyed by them preferred India to other regions such as Japan (39 per cent), China (6 per cent) and Singapore (3 per cent).
'India emerges as the most favored market, perceived as a likely beneficiary of the supply chain re-alignments following the effects of tariffs. Japan relinquishes the top spot, while China rises to the third spot from the lowest rank in the previous month. Thailand remains the least preferred market,' BofA Securities' survey findings suggest.
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A total of 208 panelists with $522 billion worth of assets under management (AUM) participated in the survey. 174 panelists with $458 billion in AUM responded to the global FMS questions and 109 panelists with $234 billion AUM responded to the regional FMS questions between May 02 and 08, 2025, BofA Securities said.
Economic growth outlook
The turnaround in economic growth outlook has led to favorable market return expectations for the Asia Pac region. Although a net 58 per cent still anticipate an earnings slowdown, this reflects an improvement from 78 per cent the previous month. Furthermore, consensus earnings estimates do not appear overly optimistic compared to last month, allowing room for upward revisions in the future.
Currently, a net 59 per cent of respondents anticipate a weaker global economy, a notable improvement from last month's most pessimistic reading of 82 per cent, while a net 77 per cent foresee a weaker Asian economy, improving from 89 per cent the previous month.
Tide turning for China
Investors are turning optimistic on China, BofA Securities said, with only 16 per cent seeking opportunities in other markets, compared to 26 per cent last month.
Also, a record 10 per cent report that they are fully invested in China. It is important to mention that the survey was completed on May 8, prior to the US-China meeting in Geneva, which was followed by a swift announcement regarding the reduction of tariffs.
In the Asia ex-Japan portfolio, fund managers are overweight telecom and software, while avoiding energy, materials, and consumer discretionary ex-retailing/ecommerce.
The outlook on semiconductors, BofA said, has improved compared to April, with net 42 per cent expecting a softening in the semiconductors cycle, a decrease from 59 per cent last month.
In Japan, banks, beneficiary of higher rates, continue to be top choice, BofA said, while real estate has risen to second place. In China, the most favored themes are AI/semiconductors and shares of companies that are likely to announce buybacks / dividends.