India's small- and mid-cap stocks are entering a sweet spot, with stronger earnings, price corrections and improving valuations making them more attractive than large-caps, said Hiren Dasani, chief investment officer for emerging markets at Singapore-based WhiteOak Capital.
"The real opportunity lies in companies tied to powerful structural themes such as manufacturing, supply-chain diversification, defence, energy infrastructure and AI-linked global capex, many of which are better represented in the broader market than in the large-cap universe," Dasani told Reuters on Monday.
The fund house, which has a global AUM of $11.23 billion of which 40% accounts for India, said the long-term growth story of domestic markets remains intact despite elevated crude prices and foreign outflows.
Brent crude has risen 36% since the Iran conflict began in late February, threatening to slow growth and stoke inflation in the world's third-biggest oil importer. [O/R]
Market performance shows a divergence. India's Nifty 50 and Sensex are down 8.3% and 10.5% so far in 2026, while small-caps and mid-caps have gained 2.6% and 2.2%, respectively.
Foreign portfolio investors have offloaded domestic stocks worth $23.86 billion in 2026 so far, surpassing last year's record annual outflows. Dasani views the selling as a valuation reset rather than a rejection of India's fundamentals.
"While India's 10%–12% earnings growth outlook remains intact, investors are reassessing it against improving earnings visibility in other emerging markets such as Korea and Taiwan, driven by AI-led capital expenditure," he said.
Record buying by domestic mutual funds in small- and mid-caps in April remains a key supportive factor for these segments, according to WhiteOak Capital.
Sectorally, WhiteOak favours industrials, manufacturing and select financials, citing strong momentum in engineering firms, auto ancillaries and capital-goods companies, with multi-year growth visibility.
It also sees opportunities in non-banking financial companies, MSME lenders and microfinance firms, where credit costs appear to have peaked, while it is cautious on IT services as AI-driven productivity gains intensify pricing pressure.
WhiteOak has significant exposure to Indian small- and mid-cap stocks. Its flexi-cap, multi-cap and special opportunities funds manage 79.07 billion rupees ($829.09 million), 34.21 billion rupees and 15.39 billion rupees.
